Coyne and co stay on course

Shandonagh made sure of their place in the business end of the Westmeath IFC on Saturday evening with a merited victory over Castledaly in sun-drenched TEG Cusack Park.

David Scahill’s charges led by eight with five minutes to go, and had been on top for much of the game. But a small bit of complacency crept in at the finish, allowing Castledaly to outscore them 1-3 to nil. The Ballinea outfit will be relieved that they had their work done.

Shandonagh were forced to pack the goal-line in stoppage time as Castledaly’s Daniel Heavin crashed a free goalwards, but the ball went over the bar, preventing the south Westmeath men from nabbing a share of the spoils.

Anything less than a win would have been a harsh outcome for Shandonagh, who were the better team over the hour, playing some attractive, attacking football. For long spells, this was in contrast to Castledaly, whose profligacy cost them badly, particularly in the first half.

That said, it was the Southerners who took the lead early, Lorcan Dolan teeing up Michael Lynch for a shot on goal, and only the intervention of Ben Treanor ensured a point instead of a goal. Kevin Stone doubled Castledaly’s lead with a free moments later.

Shandonagh turned the tables with consecutive points from Gareth Carr, Brian Kavanagh and Cormac Coyne, the latter with a goal at his mercy. At the other end, Castledaly struggled to mount an effective response.

Daniel Heavin went wide for them before Aaron Nugent found himself bearing down on goal, but took too much out of the chance. Michael Lynch collected the loose ball and scooped over the equaliser.

In a four-minute spell, Castledaly yielded just that point from a possible 1-3, and at the other end Shandonagh forged onwards with scores from Coyne and Tom Molloy (a free), before Castledaly’s Lorcan Dolan brushed off previous missed opportunities with his first point.

Then Shandonagh were awarded a penalty after Tom Molloy was fouled, and Brian Kavanagh despatched the resulting kick with aplomb. At the water break, Shandonagh led 1-5 to 0-4, and they added three more points to this through Coyne (2) and Kavanagh, with Castledaly, who continued to struggle in front of the posts, replying with a point from Aaron Nugent.

On 30 minutes, the Ballinea men almost had a second goal after a calamity in the Castledaly defence, after which Ryan Norris shot low and wide. Moments later however, Brendan Killian rattled the roof of the net after he was teed up following a nice move involving Norris and Coyne.

Shandonagh themselves kicked a trio of disappointing wides before heading in for the half-time break leading 2-8 to 0-5.

Castledaly found their shooting boots again after the restart, with Kevin Stone (a free) and Aaron Nugent shaving two points off Shandonagh’s advantage. However, the men in sky blue rattled off another three points from Coyne, sub Ryan Donnelly and Ryan Norris to lead by ten.

Castledaly then enjoyed their best spell of the game so far, taking advantage of some slack Shandonagh defending to halve that ten-point lead. Aaron Nugent and Daniel Heavin (a free) both divided the posts, and on 43 minutes, Adam Turley picked out an unmarked Kevin Stone in space with a beautiful long-range pass, and the midfielder applied the finish.

Castledaly had the momentum, but then lost it after Stone kicked wide, before Shandonagh pointed through Ryan Donnelly, with the omnipresent Cormac Coyne providing the assist. Brian Kavanagh and Gareth Carr added further scores to leave Shandonagh 2-14 to 1-9 ahead at the water break.

Heavin (Castledaly) and Coyne (Shandonagh) traded scores and with five minutes to go, the Ballinea outfit looked home and dry. But from there, they seemed to ease off the accelerator and Castledaly crept back into contention, with the loss of teak-tough full back Daire Conway to a first-half knock leaving Shandonagh vulnerable at the back.

Points for Alan and Kevin Stone (the latter a free) were followed by a 61st minute goal from Lorcan Dolan, who turned his marker wonderfully and shot to the roof of the net. With now just three points between the sides (2-15 to 2-12), but time at a premium, Castledaly went on the hunt for an equalising goal.

An opportunity arose shortly after Dolan’s major, when Shandonagh conceded a free within striking distance of their goal. The Mullingar men packed the goal-line, and drew a sigh of relief when Daniel Heavin’s powerful kick went over, rather than under the bar.

Shandonagh advance, but with a struggling St Malachy’s awaiting Castledaly in their final round robin game, the Southerners will be fancied to join them in the knockouts.

Scorers – Shandonagh: B Kavanagh 1-3 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), C Coyne 0-6, B Killian 1-0, G Carr and R Donnelly 0-2 each, T Molloy (free) and R Norris 0-1 each. Castledaly: K Stone 1-3 (0-3f), L Dolan 1-1, A Nugent and D Heavin (1f) 0-3 each, M Lynch 0-2, A Stone 0-1.

Shandonagh: Conor Craig; Ben Treanor, Daire Conway, Jenson Nagle; Gareth Carr, Adam Cronin, Brendan Killian; Alan Hickey, Aaron Craig; Luke Tynan, Cormac Coyne, Conor McCrossan; Brian Kavanagh, Ryan Norris, Tom Molloy. Subs used: Ryan Donnelly for Conway (inj., h-t), Cormac Gordon for Norris (50), Jake Costelloe for A Hickey (56), Jack O’Brien for Coyne (60).

Castledaly: Jordan Nugent; Olsen North, Liam Fitzpatrick, John Warburton; Shane Fitzpatrick, David Stone, Emmet Heavin; Kevin Stone, Alan Stone; MJ Kelly, Adam Turley, Michael Lynch; Daniel Heavin, Aaron Nugent, Lorcan Dolan. Subs used: Cathal Dolan for North (30), Damien Stone for E Heavin (46), Paul Costello for A Nugent (56).

Ref: Barry Kelly (Mullingar Shamrocks).