O’Brien on song as Castletown prevail

Castletown Geoghegan 2-19, Lough Lene Gaels 3-14

Ten frees from Niall O’Brien were central to Castletown-Geoghegan overcoming a dogged Lough Lene Gaels outfit in the final round fixture of the Westmeath Senior A hurling championship in St Loman’s GAA last Sunday.

With a very strong crowd out to see the contest, the resulting victory for Raharney in the other fixture meant that despite the victory for the black-and-amber, the sides will meet again in the semi-final by virtue of finishing in the two runner-up spots. Nevertheless, those in attendance were treated to a good exhibition of hurling from both sides (albeit at different times it has to be said) as timely goals for the Gaels kept them in with a shout right until the final moments of the encounter.

Things could not have started in more contrasting fashion for the two benches as a Castletown blitz inside the first ten minutes threatened to make a mockery of the tie. The first score was all to simple for David O’Reilly, the ace marksman in tonnes of space to hammer to the net after Jack Gallagher’s handpass to him. Michael Daly’s free in response was soon forgotten as the pace quickened. Gallagher, Cormac Jackson, O’Brien, and a goal from Peter Clarke all added to the tally early on as the forward line reaped the rewards of having David Lynch, Shane Clavin, Johnny Bermingham and Naoise McKenna in fine form clearing upfield.

The Gaels long balls were finding little joy as Clavin added his name to the list of scorers. Substitutions for the Lough Lene side were swift, with Tommy Doyle introduced in the half-forward line. Points from David Williams (free) and a wonderful Eoin Daly effort raised some cheer from the Gaels bench but no sooner had they reset than Alan Mangan’s side were on the charge again. When Conor Murphy pointed on fourteen minutes, it rounded off the opening scores for all six starting forwards.

Scoring rates slowed somewhat but right before half-time, the team in need of scores found three. Late frees from Williams ended the half but not before Jason Malone found the net with a one-handed ground swing effort after shots from Doyle and Williams had both been blocked. Despite seeming to be out of the game entirely, the late rally brought it back to 2-9 to 1-6 at the break.

Spirits were raised on the Gaels bench early in the second period when Daly launched an effort from his own 65 before the other of the Daly’s, Eoin, added another. But Castletown were continuing to keep the scoreboard ticking as O’Brien added three more placed-balls in as many minutes. A neat knockdown from Malone allowed Eoin Daly add another with twenty minutes remaining. Moments after Clavin found another point, Malone found himself another goal at the far end, hitting home after Eoin Glennon had saved the initial effort. But even trailing 2-13 to 2-9, parity was never restored as the experienced heads just remained clear enough to be comfortable.

O’Brien continued his accuracy from all angles, sides, and distances, with two more. Castletown bainisteoir Alan Mangan was dismissed from the sideline but it had no impact on the field. Shane Williams and Darragh Qamar added to the Gaels tally and with injury time looming, there was only a puck between the sides at 2-14 to 2-17. However, not to be overturned, Castletown hit two further points from O’Brien and a wonderful effort from David O’Reilly, who sold the fake before hitting over.

Despite the late, late goal from Thomas Kennedy, time was up but both will meet again in the coming weeks in the semi-final stage.

Man of the match: David Lynch (Castletown Geoghegan): David Lynch and Shane Clavin were both exceptional. Lynch took on the role of mopping-up loose ball, covering all areas in the backs, and managed to withhold Tommy Doyle for the majority of the match.

Score of the match: David O’Reilly’s final score (and the last of the game) was a beautiful dummied point which just nudged Castletown out enough to force the Gaels to need a goal with seconds left. The feint was executed to perfection.

What it means: The sides will meet again in the semi-final for a spot in the decider against the well-fancied Raharney.

Scorers - Castletown-Geoghegan: N O’Brien 0-10 frees, D O’Reilly 1-2, P Clarke 1-0, S Clavin, C Murphy, J Gallagher 0-2 each, C Jackson 0-1. Lough Lene Gaels: J Malone 2-0, D Williams 0-6 (5 frees, 1 65’), T Kennedy 1-0, M Daly (1 free), E Daly 0-3 each, D Qamar, S Williams 0-1 each.

Castletown-Geoghegan: Eoin Glennon; Dean McDermott, Johnny Bermingham, Naoise McKenna; Shane Clavin, David Lynch, Morgan Gavigan; Plunkett Maxwell, Ciarán O’Brien; Peter Clarke, David O’Reilly, Cormac Jackson; Niall O’Brien, Conor Murphy, Jack Gallagher. Subs used: Aaron Glennon for O’Brien (43), Neal Kirby for Maxwell (56), David Maloney for C O’Brien (60+1).

Lough Lene Gaels: Noel Conaty; Daniel Reilly, Daniel Higgins, Philip Reilly; Dáire Daly, Darragh Qamar, John Egan; Michael Daly, David Williams; Jason Malone, Shane Williams, Eoin Daly; Marcus Kennedy, Derek McNicholas, Aaron Kennedy. Subs used: Brendan Doyle for Egan (11), Tommy Doyle for Kennedy (18), Warren Williams for McNicholas (56), Thomas Kennedy for D Reilly (59).

Referee: Caymon Flynn (St Brigid’s).