McCormack pulls the strings for dominant Castlepollard side

Castlepollard 2-16, St Oliver Plunketts 1-11

By Rodney Farry

Castlepollard marked their return to the Senior B championship with a convincing win over a disappointing St Oliver Plunketts side in Cusack Park on Saturday evening.

With Darragh McCormack directing proceedings from the half-back line and the midfield duo of Eoin English and top scorer Darragh Tierney dominating the middle third, ‘Pollard comfortably saw off the challenge of a youthful Plunketts team, who will have to improve significantly if they are to have a say in this year’s championship. In truth, the victors, who hit 14 wides, were also far from flawless, but they didn’t need to be against an opponent who never really got going.

At this stage of the season getting points on the board is more important than the performance, and after their relegation from the Senior A ranks last season and with a new management team in position led by Mickey ‘Dan’ Murtagh, the men from the north of the county would have been particularly eager to get their campaign off to a winning start. One of things that is sure to have pleased the new bainisteoir, is the fact that nine of his men got on the scoresheet over the course of 60 minutes, and if the ‘Pollard forwards had been more clinical that winning margin would have been even bigger.

While scrappy, the opening quarter was entertaining with both sides having their moments. Padraig Casey opened the scoring for Plunketts early on with a well struck free, which was quickly cancelled out by a long-range effort from deep in his own half from player of the match, Darren McCormack. ‘Pollard, who played with the wind in the first half, took the lead on the eight minutes, when Darragh Tierney pointed a ’65. It was the first of six scores from the industrious midfielder.

Fresh from his big ball exploits with the Westmeath senior footballers this summer, Leinster champion Shane Ormsby levelled proceedings for Plunkett’s with a well-struck effort on the turn. In the first half in particular, it looked as if Ormsby and Padraig Casey could cause problems for the Castlepollard defence, but their teammates were unable to get enough ball into them to test that theory.

With 20 minutes on the clock and the score tied at 0-6 points, it looked as if this might be one of those hard-fought championship encounters that was going to go down to the wire. This did not prove to be the case with ‘Pollard hitting a ten-minute purple patch before the short whistle, scoring 1-3 without reply. The goal came on 27 minutes courtesy of a close-range finish from Allan Devine after clever work from David Higgins, whose influence grew as the first half progressed. Half-time score: Castlepollard 1-9 Oliver Plunketts 0-6.

While ‘Pollard dominated the second quarter and Plunketts’ play became increasingly disjointed as the first half progressed, the consensus in the press box was that a six deficit was far from insurmountable, particularly as Dermot Curley’s men were playing with the wind for the final 30 minutes.

It was Pollard, however, who started the second half on the front foot, hitting three points without reply, the pick of which was another long-range strike from the increasingly influential McCormack. When Casey opened Plunketts’ second half-account in the 37th minute, it was his side’s first score in over 15 minutes of play.

‘Pollard substitute Luke Roddy opened his account after he replaced Matthew O’Reilly in the 36th minute and continued to the be a thorn in the side of the Plunketts defence for the remainder of the match. He was not the only ‘Pollard sub to make his mark on the scoreboard. As the game entered time added on, Brian Gilchrist planted the ball past Conor Lynch for his side’s second goal of the evening.

Although they were on the back foot for most of the second half, Padraig Casey gave the scoreboard some sort of respectability when he planted a free past Barry Dowdall in the last seconds of the match. However, he and his teammates will know that their performance level will have to improve significantly over the coming weeks if they are to live up to their pre-season billing as one of the championship favourites.

Plunketts’ league campaign ended with a dramatic victory over Clonkill in the ACHL Division 2 final last month, but championship is a different beast altogether, particularly when you are facing a team as battle-hardened as Castlepollard. The Mullingar team’s highly rated group of young players such as Ben McNamee and Sean Hayes had quiet games by their own lofty standards but should have learned a lot from this encounter.

‘Pollard’s league campaign in Division 1 was more exacting than their opponents and this may have left them in better shape for their championship opener. Either way, both teams will know they have plenty to work on.

Scorers: Castlepollard: Darragh Tierney 0-6 (4f), Allan Devine 1-2, Darragh McCormack 0-3, Brian Gilchrist 1-0, Conor Gaffney, Eoin English, Matthew O’Reilly, Luke Roddy, David Higgins (0-1 each).

Oliver Plunketts: Padraig Casey 1-5 (3f), Paddy Lynam 0-2, Davy Gavin, Nathan Cornally, Aaron Craig (f) and Shane Ormsby 0-1 each.

Castlepollard: Barry Dowdall; Ben Murphy, Darragh O'Reilly, Ciaran Fagan; Dylan/Dyan O'Leary, Conor Gaffney, Sean Lancaster; Darragh Tierney, Eoin English; Joe Rabbitt, David Higgins, Matthew O'Reilly; Allan Devine, Darragh McCormack, Andy Dermody. Subs used: Paul Dermody for Sean Lancaster, Luke Roddy for Matthew O’Reilly, Brian Gilchrist for Paul Dermody, Kevin Brazil for David Higgins, Conor Sheridan for Allan Devine.

St. Oliver Plunketts: Conor Lynch; John Fry, Zach Ahern, Robert Hogg; Ben McNamee, Liam Carey, Sean Hayes; Aaron Craig, Donnacha Maguire; Nathan Cornally, Cathal Craig, Paddy Lynam; Padraig Casey, Davy Gavin, Brian Farrell. Subs used: Tomass Turks (blood sub) for Paddy Lynam, Dylan Carey for Aaron Craig, Tomass Turks for John Fry, Brian Farrell for Nathan Cornally.

Referee: Bernard Heaney (Clann na nGael).