Great Scott strikes twice for victorious Kinnegad side
Coralstown/Kinnegad 3-9, St Loman's Mullingar 1-6
Two first-half goals from Scott Clynes and a spectacular effort from Liam Daly shortly after the break underlined the difference between the sides, as Coralstown/Kinnegad ran out deserved winners over St Loman’s, Mullingar in Saturday afternoon’s premier U19 football final at TEG Cusack Park.
The Reds led 2-4 to 0-4 at the break after a cautious first half from both sides, in which it became apparent that Coralstown/Kinnegad – impressive winners over in Caulry in the semi-final – had that little bit more strength and swashbuckle down the spine of their team.
After the restart, St Loman’s made a statement of intent with an early major from Thomas Meehan, but within a minute they were left shellshocked when Daly found the net with a speculative shot from 20 metres. The Blues rarely troubled a defensively well-organised Kinnegad again.
The Mullingar men, who edged Moate All Whites in their recent semi-final, lined out without full back Riley Sheahan, who picked up a knock playing hurling the weekend before last. John Casey ably deputised in the role and Nathan Sleator was a capable defensive asset, but the loss of Tom Dorr and Jack McCann to injuries early in the first half hit St Loman’s hard.
Both teams included some experienced heads with ample adult football under their belts for 2023. However, it quickly became clear that Coralstown/Kinnegad’s marquee men down the middle gave them a firm advantage, and one of them, Liam Daly, soloed his way to an impressive opening point inside the first minute.
Two minutes later, Brían Cooney, John Kiernan and Alex Ajeigbe combined in a well-worked move to set up Scott Clynes for a close-range finish to make it 1-1 to nil.
At the other end, Thomas Meehan went on the hunt for a St Loman’s goal and was fouled en route before shooting just wide. Daniel McCann tapped over the resultant free, and the Saints were off the mark.
The action switched to the other half and Clynes had a chance to find the net for a second time, but his shot was bravely blocked by Ciaran Smyth (St Loman’s). Cooney went short with the resultant ‘45’, but in the 12th minute, he converted a free to restore Kinnegad’s four-point lead.
After a lull in play, Meehan showed his potential for St Loman’s by latching onto a perfectly-flighted pass from Daniel McCann and heading for goal. However, some blanket defending from the Reds stopped him in his tracks, albeit at the expense of a free that McCann converted with ease.
With St Loman’s struggling to generate scores from play in the face of a dogged Kinnegad defence, it was the Reds who continued to rack up crucial scores, and on 20 minutes Rory Cole dodged a would-be marker before pointing from the edge of the ‘D’.
Three minutes later, Jack McCann finally conjured a first score from play for Robbie Kenny’s charges. A number of Kinnegad defenders tried to clear their lines soccer-style, but the ball came back out to McCann who obliged with a superbly-taken score off his left.
A minute later, St Loman’s were knocked for six after this hint of progress. Alex Ajeigbe, the conduit for much of Kinnegad’s creative potential, sent a superb ball over the top for Scott Clynes. Although it looked to have got away from the pacy corner forward, he stole in to slide the ball soccer-style past St Loman’s netminder Calum Butler Dolan.
A third free from Daniel McCann cut the deficit to five for St Loman’s, but at the other end, Kinnegad’s Liam Daly ended the half as he started, sauntering down the middle and dividing the posts to ensure that the Reds led by two goals at the break.
QUICK SUCCESSION
St Loman’s needed an early score if they were to get back into contention, and they didn’t disappoint, finding the net inside the first minute. At the tail end of a swift move, Daniel McCann went for a point but his kick was deflected into the path of Thomas Meehan behind the Kinnegad line. Meehan duly found the net with a powerful drive from a tight angle to leave just a goal between the sides (2-4 to 1-4).
As soon as St Loman’s gained the momentum, it took just seconds to swing back in Kinnegad’s favour. Brían Cooney teed up Liam Daly for another one of his trademark runs, and while the midfielder was momentarily stopped by a robust shoulder from Eoghan Kenny, he regained his composure and rifled a terrific 20-metre shot into the top corner of the St Loman’s net.
This piledriver arguably killed off the game as a contest. It was a real deadener for the Blues, who failed to score again until the 55th minute, by which time Coralstown/Kinnegad were well ahead. To add injury to insult, they also lost Tom Dorr and Jack McCann to knocks in the minutes after that Kinnegad goal.
At the other end, Kinnegad kept it simple and built up a solid lead over the next quarter of an hour. St Loman’s spent a minute and a half passing the ball about trying to find a gap in the Reds’ defence, but they were eventually turned over and Eimhinn Whelehan went on to add two points in quick succession. The first, on 44 minutes, came after a tremendous kick from the terrace side, and the second after Kinnegad seized on a St Loman’s kickout.
Brían Cooney, a strong presence for Kinnegad throughout, converted a free after Rory Cole was fouled while making a brave play for the ball, and a few minutes later, Jason Macken combined with Cooney for the latter to break through, only to have his goalbound shot saved.
Cooney successfully kicked the resultant ‘45’, and on 50 minutes, Macken fired a classy score from the right corner to make it 3-9 to 1-4. The St Loman’s faithful could only look on demoralised as Coralstown/Kinnegad derived maximum profit from the chances presented to them.
Both sides emptied their benches in the final ten minutes, but with Macken’s score, Kinnegad had their work done. St Loman’s needed a couple of goals but the Reds were watertight at the back, and the Saints had to settle for a couple of late frees from Cillian Plunkett and Daniel McCann.
At full time, Frank Mescall, Westmeath GAA chairman, presented the cup to the winning Coralstown/Kinnegad captains Jason Macken and John Kiernan.
Scorers - Coralstown/Kinnegad: S Clynes 2-0, L Daly 1-2, B Cooney 0-3 (2f, 1 ‘45’), E Whelehan 0-2, R Cole and J Macken 0-1 each. St Loman’s: D McCann 0-4f, T Meehan 1-0, C Plunkett (free) and J McCann 0-1 each.
Coralstown/Kinnegad: Stephen McNevin; Jack Quinn, Eoghan Daly, Eoin Mulligan; Donnacha Fleming, Jason Macken, Colin Kiernan; Alex Ajeigbe, Liam Daly; John Kiernan, Rory Cole, Eimhinn Whelehan; Conor Callaghan, Brían Cooney, Scott Clynes. Subs used: Eoghan Kelly for Ajeigbe (49), Aaron Kavanagh for C Kiernan (60), Andrew Coyne for Callaghan (60), Michael Taggart for Whelehan (60+1), Thomas Davis for Clynes (60+3). Management team: Robbie Kenny, Jonathan Plunkett, Paul Leonard, Seamus Tunney.
St Loman’s, Mullingar: Calum Butler Dolan; Tom Dorr, John Casey, Nathan Sleator; Jack McCann, Ciaran Smyth, Eoghan Kenny; Cillian Plunkett, Seanaí Bracken; Daniel McCann, Tadhg Kenny, Shane Muldarry; Mark Tunney, Ross Clinton, Thomas Meehan. Subs used: Mike Weir for Dorr (inj., 34), Eoin Meehan for J McCann (inj., 37), Robbie Cleary for Muldarry (52), Byron Graham for Sleator (57), Aaron Smith for T Kenny (57). Management team: Paul Leacy, P J Cannon, Jack Cooney, Billy Cole, Eamonn Fleming, David Lynch.
Ref: Barry Pierce (St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge).
Examiner's Eye on the game
Man of the match
Liam Daly (Coralstown/Kinnegad): Midfield was the beating heart of this Kinnegad team, with Daly and Alex Ajeigbe pulling the strings and creating chance after chance for the winners. Daly had two superb points on the board before he fired a spectacular goal after 33 minutes, crowning a terrific individual display.
Rory Cole, Brían Cooney, Eimhinn Whelehan, Jason Macken and Donnacha Fleming also started for Kinnegad, while Nathan Sleator, Seanaí Bracken, the McCanns and Thomas Meehan were best for St Loman’s.
The key moment
A grandstand second half looked on the cards when Thomas Meehan’s 32nd minute goal left just a kick of the ball between the sides. However, Daly’s piledriver of a goal moments later was the perfect response for Kinnegad, and St Loman’s never recovered.