Corroon’s late point edges Plunkett’s to merited win

Westmeath Hurling League Division 2 final: St Oliver Plunkett’s 0-20, Clonkill 1-16 (after extra-time)

Gerry Buckley reports

It needed extra-time to separate two evenly-matched sides in the opening game of yesterday evening’s Westmeath hurling league final double-header in TEG Cusack Park, and it was the local St Oliver Plunkett’s side which eventually triumphed by the narrowest of margins against a youthful Clonkill outfit.

The teams equally shared eight points in the opening quarter. The wind-assisted men in white and green scored via Ross Corroon, Brian Farrell and Davy Gavin (two, the first of them from a free), while Clonkill’s players on target were Evan Scally (a free), Brian Gaffney, Josh Murtagh and Matthew Glynn (from an acute angle).

Ciaran McKenna’s men edged the second quarter by five points (two long-range frees from goalkeeper Conor Bracken, and from play courtesy of Donal Leddy, Zach Aherne and Damien Kiernan, who rounded off first half scoring) to two (a Cillian Doyle free and Murtagh from open play). St Oliver Plunkett’s led by 0-9 to 0-6 at the interval.

Another Bracken free some 45 seconds after the resumption of play stretched the winners’ advantage, but an unanswered Scally hat-trick (the second of them from open play) reduced the deficit to the bare minimum by the 44th minute.

Ciaran Curley doubled Plunkett’s advantage before Rian Holding was red-carded following an incident which required Westmeath star Aaron Craig to receive treatment.

However, despite their numerical disadvantage, Christy Doyle’s troops edged the closing stages by four points (two from Glynn, and one each from Ciaran Nooney and Scally - a free on the hour mark) to two (a great score from play by sub Paddy Lynam, and he also slotted over a free). The teams were level on 0-13 apiece at the end of normal time.

Another Lynam free and a Gavin point from play nudged the Mullingar men ahead, but a foul on Oisín Murray resulted in a converted penalty by Glynn midway through the first period of extra-time. Plunkett’s sub Colm O’Leary equalized and it was still all-square (0-16 to 1-13) after the first ten-minute period.

Point exchanges between Glynn and Kiernan, and Bracken and Doyle (both frees) had the very small crowd contemplating the prospect of a penalty shootout.

However, Lynam and Corroon pointed to edge Plunkett’s two clear and sub Robert Cleary’s late point wasn’t enough for the men in green and gold, for whom Glynn was narrowly wide at the death.

After the match, Frank Mescall, the Westmeath County Board chairman, presented the cup to the winning captain, Davy Gavin.

Scorers – St Oliver Plunkett’s: C Bracken (4f) and P Lynam (2f) 0-4 each, D Gavin 0-3 (1f), D Kiernan and R Corroon 0-2 each, Z Aherne, D Leddy, C Curley, B Farrell and C O’Leary 0-1 each. Clonkill: M Glynn 1-4 (1-0pen), E Scally 0-5 (4f), J Murtagh and C Doyle (2f) 0-2 each, B Gaffney, C Nooney and R Cleary 0-1 each.

St Oliver Plunkett’s: Conor Bracken; Darragh Geraghty, Aaron Craig, Michael McKnight; Stephen McManus, Liam Carey, Tomas Turks; Zach Aherne, Donal Leddy; Damien Kiernan, Ciaran Curley, Brian Farrell; Thomas Meehan, Ross Corroon, Davy Gavin. Subs used: Paddy Lynam for Carey (45), Colm O’Leary for Craig (inj., 51), Darragh Hughes for McManus (54), Liam Carey for McKnight (e/t, 10), Aaron Craig for Geraghty (e/t, h/t), Andrew Cunningham for Meehan (e/t, 12).

Clonkill: Scott Murray; Eoin Egerton, John Kenny, Luke Kenny; Rian Holding, Andrew Shaw, Oisín Loughlin; Evan Scally, Paul Poynton; Brian Gaffney, Matthew Glynn, Josh Murtagh; Cillian Doyle, Oisín Murray, Ciaran Nooney. Subs used: Adam Price for Poynton (43), Michael Heffernan for Doyle (43), John Fagan for Gaffney (60 + 1), Cillian Doyle (start of e/t to make up 15 players), Robert Cleary for Scally (e/t, 6), Mark Keegan for O Murray (e/t, 8), Joe Doherty for Egerton (e/t, 17).

Ref: James McGrath (Turin).