McCabe to the fore as Dalton's secure first win

Fr Dalton's 3-14, Castlepollard 1-14

An impressive second-half performance secured Fr Dalton’s their first victory in this year’s Slevin's Coaches Westmeath Senior A Hurling Championship, at the expense of a Castlepollard side who remain winless after three rounds.

The teams headed into Sunday’s match at TEG Cusack Park knowing a win was imperative if they were to harbour any hopes of making the latter stages of the championship.

Playing against the wind in the first half, Fr Dalton’s went in at the break trailing by nine points, and at that stage it looked like another tough day at the office for last season’s Senior ‘B’ champions.

However, the introduction of Ronan McLoughlin and Colm O’Roarke, as well as a couple of positional changes made by manager Eamon Gallagher, worked a treat. His side dominated the second period, confining a disappointing ‘Pollard team to only three points in the final 30 minutes.

This really was the proverbial game of two halves. Playing with the wind in the first half, ‘Pollard were on the front foot from the first whistle and went ahead after just 15 seconds courtesy of a point from midfielder Conor Gaffney. Three minutes later, they extended their lead when Allan Devine struck for his side’s first and only goal.

Player of the match Owen McCabe opened the scoring for Fr Dalton’s with a well-struck point in the fourth minute, but ‘Pollard were winning most of the individual battles around the park and led 1-4 to 0-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter went much the same way as the first, with ‘Pollard finding scores easier to come by and fully deserving their half-time lead of 1-11 to 0-6.

Whatever Eamon Gallagher and his backroom team said at half-time had the desired effect, as Fr Dalton’s dominated the second half, scoring 3-7 before ‘Pollard opened their account with a pointed free from Allan Devine in the 47th minute.

After scoring five points without reply, John Gilligan netted for Dalton’s in the 40th minute to leave the bare minimum between the sides. Less than two minutes later, he pointed again to bring the teams level. Now playing with a spring in their step, Dalton’s took the lead for the first time on 45 minutes thanks to a well-taken point from Colm O’Roarke, who, along with fellow substitute Ronan McLoughlin, made a real impact when introduced at the start of the second half.

Shortly after O’Roarke’s score, ‘Pollard were hit with another sucker punch when McCabe finished to the net after a 50m solo run from wide out near the left touchline. Despite the best efforts of the ‘Pollard defence, they were unable to prevent him from firing past goalkeeper Barry Dowdall. A couple of minutes later, Dalton’s stretched their lead to seven points when Jack Duncan scored his side’s third goal during a blistering 15-minute spell.

Devine reduced the deficit with ‘Pollard’s opening score of the second half after 47 minutes, but Fr Dalton’s never looked like they were going to relinquish a lead they had worked so hard to establish. As the game drew to a close, points from John Gilligan and Colm O’Roarke were cancelled out by scores from Dylan O’Leary and Andrew Dermody.

Dalton’s management team will be delighted with their team’s second-half performance, which should give them confidence that they can retain their place in the Senior ‘A’ Championship. As for Castlepollard, it was another disappointing result, and the fact that it took them so long to score in the second half does not augur well for the rest of the campaign.

Scorers - Fr Dalton's: Owen McCabe 1-6 (4f), John Gilligan 1-2, Jack Duncan 1-1, Colm O’Roarke 0-2, Jack Kearney, Brian McCabe, Ronan McLoughlin 0-1 each. Castlepollard: Allan Devine 1-4 (4f), Andrew Dermody 0-3, Eoin English, Darragh Tierney (f), Conor Gaffney, Darragh McCormack, Joe Rabbitt, Dylan O’Leary, Luke Roddy 0-1 each.

Fr Dalton’s: Eoin Moran; Liam O’Neill, Kenneth Kincaid, Eoin Ryan; Ronan Hanley, Jack Kearney, Eoghan Bannon; Ciaran Clear, Brian McCabe; Patrick Kiernan, Conaire Martin, Ivan Smyth; Jack Duncan, John Gilligan, Owen McCabe. Subs used: Enda Kincaid, Ronan McLoughlin, Colm O’Roarke and Eoin Nally.

Castlepollard: Barry Dowdall; Sean Lancaster, Ciaran Fagan, Mark Lancaster; Eoin English, Darragh Tierney, Paul Dermody; Conor Gaffney, Conor Sheridan; Aaron O’Leary, Darragh McCormack, Allan Devine; Joe Rabbitt, Dylan O’Leary, Andrew Dermody. Subs used: Luke Roddy, David Higgins, Matthew Reilly.

Ref: Barry Nea (Clonkill).