Mullingar men overwhelm Tyrrellspass in fine victory

Mullingar Shamrocks 3-16, Tyrrellspass 0-14

An emphatic 11-point victory in round one of the Westmeath Senior Football Championship has put the spotlight on an improving Mullingar Shamrocks side, who had too much strength, pace and skill for a weakened Tyrrellspass outfit, at Rochfortbridge on Saturday evening.

The winners led by 1-7 to 0-4 at half-time having played against the stiff breeze, and at that stage, the writing was on the wall. They went on to notch a further 2-9 in the second half, the goals from Killian Daly and Dean Moore putting a gloss on the scoreline and underlining the gulf between the two teams.

Manager Micheál Burke will have put his side through tougher training sessions in Springfield, but he’ll certainly be pleased with the manner of this victory and the overall performance, while giving players their senior championship debut is an added bonus. They got the first six points against the wind and the outcome was never in doubt from the moment Conor O’Brien flicked home the first goal in the 24th minute, making it 1-6 to 0-1.

Tyrrellspass hadn’t scored for 20 minutes despite playing with a strong breeze, and with O’Brien and Darragh Daly providing serious presence in the engine room, it was difficult to envisage a Tyrrellspass comeback. The sight of Nigel Harte going off injured in the early minutes added to Tyrrellspass’s woes, and Cathal Dunne’s fisted point was never going to be sufficient to stem the tide.

Paddy Fagan and Dean Moore got the pick of the Mullingar scores in the opening quarter, and even allowing for some prolonged approach play, they looked much more effective. Dean McNicholas’ two-pointer from a long-range free offered only respite; Denis Corroon’s late free ensured the Mullingar men of a healthy lead at the break.

With almost a complete monopoly of possession, it seemed like a Mullingar Shamrocks onslaught was inevitable, and that’s how this game developed in the second half, a goal from Killian Daly in the 40th minute the decisive moment. O’Brien was pivotal in the build-up, as was impressive centre forward Paddy Fagan. At the third-quarter stage, Denis Corroon and Dean Moore combined initially, setting up Ryan Kelly, whose shot was saved by Joe Hyland before Moore booted home the rebound. That made it 3-10 to 0-8 and it was all part of an unanswered 1-5 that underlined Shamrocks’ superiority. Moore also notched an impressive two-pointer in that period and he punished a passive Tyrrellspass defence at every opportunity.

Dean McNicholas constantly led the line for Tyrrellspass and his wonderful point into the breeze in the 56th minute showed his class, as did an outstanding two-pointer near the end. Peter Clarke, too, was tenacious and he surged forward to score a point, while Conor Slevin added a quality score off his left boot.

However, all of that offered only crumbs of comfort. The result was long since decided and Moore’s late free completed a fine Mullingar total and gave him an eye-catching personal tally. He will realise that less obliging defences lie ahead, though.

Mullingar Shamrocks controlled the ball really well and created an impressive number of scoring chances, all of which must be hugely satisfying. However, this was facile and that doesn’t win you trophies – just ask the Cork hurlers, or indeed the Donegal footballers.

Tyrrellspass looked a pale shadow of the team that has been ultra-competitive at senior level for many years and, on this performance, are candidates for demotion to Section ‘B’ at the end of the campaign. They have time to recover, but it looks a considerable challenge for manager Ger Egan.

Scorers – Mullingar Shamrocks: D Moore 1-8 (1 tp; 1f), K Daly 1-2, C O’Brien 1-0, D Corroon 0-3 (frees), R Corroon 0-2 (frees), P Fagan 0-1.

Tyrrellspass: D McNicholas 0-9 (1 tpf; 1 tp; 3f); C Dunne, D Lynam, M Mullen, P Clarke and C Slevin 0-1 each.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Ross Corroon; Adam Glynn, Dylan Matthew, Mark Eivers; Brendan O’Reilly, David Gavin, Killian Daly; Darragh Daly, Conor O’Brien; Brian Gerin, Paddy Fagan, Lorcan Smyth; Ryan Kelly, Denis Corroon, Dean Moore.

Subs: John O’Reilly for Smyth (45), Donnacha Maguire for D Daly (50), Conn O’Hanlon for O’Brien (52).

Tyrrellspass: Joe Hyland; Conor Slevin, Cormac Monaghan, Kai Harte; Neil Pearson, Jamie Gonoud, Jamie Corcoran; Adam Flanagan, David Lynam; Chris Daly, Dean McNicholas, Peter Clarke; Evan Connell, Nigel Harte, Cathal Dunne.

Subs: Val Sizychas for N Harte (inj. 4), David Glennon and Mikie Mullen for N Pearson and E Connell (38).

Ref: Niall Ward (Garrycastle).