Gaels show grit to stay in contention

Lough Lene Gaels underlined their semi-final credentials in the Westmeath Senior 'A' hurling championship on Sunday as they edged Clonkill by the narrowest of margins, 0-20 to 1-16, in a tense battle at TEG Cusack Park.

Finalists for the past two seasons, Gaels are determined to go one better this year and manager Joey Williams was full of praise for his side’s resilience as they clawed back from four points down in injury-time to secure a crucial victory.

“To be fair, it was going to be a tight game. We missed a few chances early on and to be fair to our boys, we kept fighting and fighting and we were getting stronger at the end there and we always seem to finish games strong, and it's a great sign,” Williams reflected. “I couldn't be any prouder of them bunch of lads in there. We kept going and kept going and could have went for goals from some of those frees at the end, but we took the sensible option, tapped them over the bar and we still got the chance to get the winner as well. I was very relieved in the end, but I wasn't surprised with how tight it was.”

The Gaels had raced into an early four-point lead before Clonkill, aided by the breeze, responded with a purple patch to turn the tables before half-time. “They were with the wind,” Williams noted. “Conditions were poor enough out there, but it was the same for both teams. It was never going to be a classic there with the conditions and it was all about being workmanlike. They went up and we knew at half-time, within two or three points, we were still well fit to finish out the game and lucky enough, that's the way it worked out. But they got a goal there halfway through the second half and it put us on the backfoot for a few minutes, but to be fair to our boys, we took control of the game there in the last ten minutes and we definitely finished a stronger team.”

The winner came courtesy of Aaron Kennedy, who landed a sensational point from distance in the closing stages. “It was a super score from Aaron Kennedy and he had a couple of shots early on – he hadn't a brilliant game – but he was there at the very end to pop a super point from 60 yards,” Williams said.

“It's great; I’m delighted for the boys, but I wouldn't be happy with some of the hurling. We missed a few chances, definitely three or four goal chances we should have finished and maybe another day they'll go in, but we didn't need them today, lucky enough.”

With three wins from four outings, Lough Lene Gaels are firmly in the hunt for a semi-final berth, but Williams feels they have work to do. “We're all playing behind Castletown Geoghegan at the moment and we just want to keep winning games, and that's what we aim to do,” he stressed. “We've played four and we've won three and we lost by two points the first day and we all know the story behind that one, so it is what it is and we are where we are. We're still in contention. We're playing Castlepollard in two weeks' time and we have no doubt that that's going to be a battle as well and we'll get prepared from tomorrow morning again, as we said, after the Raharney match.”

Williams also paid tribute to Clonkill’s effort, insisting their battling display was no surprise. “To be honeswt, we knew coming in here today we weren't going to steamroll, or walk through Clonkill. To be fair to them, that wasn't a true Clonkill team that played Castletown Geoghegan a few weeks ago. There's no way they're 33 points behind ourselves or Castletown, or any of the teams involved. I had no doubt that they were going to put in a massive performance and they did, to be fair to them.”

On the injury front, the Gaels manager is hopeful his squad will remain intact for the crucial weeks ahead. “No, we're actually not too bad. We have a few knocks. Daire Daly was actually out today, he had a dead leg the last day and is just kind of almost back but we didn't want to risk him. We have a few niggles, no more than any team. But, to be fair, we're going alright and, touch wood, we'll keep it that way because our panel is tight enough. We need everyone fit and hopefully for another couple of weeks we'll keep them that way.”

For now, Lough Lene Gaels sit well placed to reach a third successive semi-final – and with the determination shown in Sunday’s, they remain a threat to holders Castletown Geoghegan, who in truth look to be well ahead of the chasing pack with the final round to come.

Clonkill were incensed with referee, James McGrath - one of the county's most experienced hurling referees - afterwards. The treatment of the referee is a matter of concern for the Westmeath Competitions Control Committee (CCC).