Southern Gaels bow out as Raharney advance to last four
Westmeath SHC Round 4: Raharney 2-16 Southern Gaels 1-14
Southern Gaels are out of the Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship after this defeat to Raharney in Ballymore last Saturday evening.
It was a familiar story this year for the Athlone outfit who came close but ultimately didn’t do enough to claim victory. Having lost by the minimum margin to Turin in the opening round, Southern Gaels lost by two points to Cullion in the third round. Their heaviest margin of defeat was seven points against Castletown Geoghegan, but they will look back on those narrow defeats to Turin and Cullion as missed opportunities.
Southern Gaels never managed to get their noses in front at any stage on Saturday and Raharney’s brace of goals towards the end of the first half gave them too much ground to make up.
On a lovely evening close to the shores of Lough Sewdy, with wind not a factor, Raharney forged 0-6 to 0-2 ahead by the 17th minute. Four of those six points came off the stick of the impressive Joe Mulvaney, including two frees and a ‘65’, which came after Winston McHugh was denied a goal by Southern Gaels keeper Jonathan Keogh. Cian Weir and James Goonery were also on target for Raharney during this phase of the contest.
Sean Dowd opened Southern Gaels’ account from a free while Kevin Dolan landed a superb score after good work in defence by Cian Geary. But the Gaels were occasionally guilty of overdoing shots from long range when delivering the ball to their inside forwards may have borne more fruit.
An 18th-minute point from Sean Murphy was a badly needed boost for the Gaels and this proved the first of four on the trot. Dowd converted two frees (with MJ Kelly doing well to earn one of them) either side of a point from play by Breen Elliott.
A crucial moment arrived in the 25th minute when a long-range free from Raharney goalkeeper Darragh Weir was batted to the net by Mulvaney. The same player followed with two points, a free and a classy effort from play.
Although Geary produced a fine point in riposte, the leaking Gaels ship took in more water when Aaron Ready struck for Raharney’s second goal (30th minute). It was a good individual effort from the full-forward, though there was a suspicion of overcarrying in the build-up. Brian Smyth added a point to make it 2-9 to 0-7 at half-time.
Four points were evenly shared in the opening 12 minutes of the second half, Darragh Weir and McHugh scoring for Raharney, while Elliott and Dowd (a free) found the range for Southern Gaels.
The Athlone-based side reignited the contest when substitute Chulainn Dowd fired the sliotar to the net after taking a pass from his brother Sean (43rd minute). In general, the subs introduced by Gaels made a positive impact with Johnny Martin, Paul Hogan and Jamie Anders having some good moments.
However, the men in yellow and maroon were unable to get any closer than four points in the time remaining. White flags were exchanged between McHugh and Johnny Martin before Raharney centre half-back Pearse Weir Norris swept over a long-range point.
Martin Geary’s charges hit two points in a row courtesy of James Anders and the influential Cian McCarthy (a well struck free), making it 2-13 to 1-12. Yet the Deelsiders were able to respond any time they looked under threat.
Points from Mulvaney, Ready (via the hurley of Gaels netminder Keogh) and substitute Jamie Carr left them six clear (2-16 to 1-13) with about five minutes left.
With the Gaels needing a goal to pull off a late act of escapology, the closest they came was when they were awarded a free which was moved forward for dissent. Sean Dowd’s initial effort was blocked and when referee Robbie Cornally ordered a retake, Geary’s firmly struck shot flew over the crossbar.
The fielding of Southern Gaels defender Graham Houlihan was a feature of the game and he produced one last show of defiance in the closing moments, just before his side’s defeat and elimination were confirmed. The game became somewhat niggly in the second half with three yellow cards shown and indeed more cards could have been issued.
When Raharney took off veteran campaigner Brian Smyth, he morphed into an extra coach on the sideline, exhorting greater efforts from his colleagues. One would have been forgiven for thinking Raharney’s first team was in danger of exiting the championship, rather than their second team looking set for the semi-finals of this competition. It was just a small reminder of the enduring passion for hurling in the Raharney area.
Man of the match: Joe Mulvaney (Raharney). The attacker scored a total of 1-7 with his freetaking and sharpness in general play notable features throughout the contest. Winston McHugh was a lively presence in attack, particularly in the second half. For Southern Gaels, Graham Houlihan, Cian Geary, Cian McCarthy and Sean Dowd were to the fore.
What it means: While Southern Gaels are now out of contention, Raharney are assured of a place in the semi-finals. The Deelsiders are tied with Clonkill and Turin on six points, with Castletown Geoghegan on four points.
Scorers - Raharney: J Mulvaney 1-7 (0-4f, 0-1 65); A Ready 1-1; W McHugh 0-2; C Weir, J Goonery, B Smyth, P Weir Norris, J Carr, and D Weir (f) 0-1 each. Southern Gaels: S Dowd 0-5 (4f, 1 65); C Dowd 1-0; B Elliott and C Geary (1f) 0-2 each; K Dolan, S Murphy, J Martin, J Anders and C McCarthy 0-1 each.
Raharney - Darragh Weir; Conor Donoghue, Matt Shaw, Ryan Murphy; David Weir, Pearse Weir Norris, Luke Darby; Aaron Flanagan, Cian Weir; Winston McHugh, Brian Smyth, James Goonery; Joe Mulvaney, Aaron Ready, Eoin Weir. Subs: Jamie Carr, Jack Larkin and Sean McGee for Donoghue, Smyth and E Weir (41 mins); Nathan McCabe for Goonery (48).
Southern Gaels - Jonathan Keogh; Shane Galvin, Graham Houlihan, Dara Shortall; Cian Geary, Diarmuid Martin, Cian McCarthy; Sean Dowd, Eamon Martin; Maurice Fitzgerald, Kevin Dolan, Aaron Power; Breen Elliott, MJ Kelly, Sean Murphy. Subs: Chulainn Dowd for Power (h-t); Jamie Anders for Fitzgerald (36 mins); Johnny Martin for Elliott and Paul Hogan for Murphy (41); Anthony Mannion for Shortall (53).
Referee - Robert Cornally.