Monaghan points the way in thrilling win for The Downs

Gerry Buckley

The minor footballers from The Downs were never headed as they edged out Shandonagh by the narrowest of margins in a pulsating Westmeath championship final, played in pleasant conditions in TEG Cusack Park last Saturday afternoon.

Despite the young men in black and amber racing into an early wind-assisted eight-point lead, their opponents regrouped and were always there or thereabouts. Indeed, in the final analysis, Shandonagh will be bitterly disappointed not to have at least brought the decider to a replay.

A ‘breach’ within the opening 30 seconds gave Padraig Monaghan the chance to display his outstanding free-taking skills by slotting over a two-pointer to open the scoring. It got even better for The Downs some two minutes later when very good work by Josh Murtagh and Finn Brennan teed up Odhran McColgan for a fisted goal from close range.

With exactly five minutes elapsed, Aaron Connaire scored a great two-pointer from play at the end of a patient move, and when Adam Kiernan added a point courtesy of a well-worked move, Paddy Monaghan’s charges led by 1-5 to 0-0 with a little over eight minutes on the electronic scoreboard. Ciaran Casserly was soon denied a second green flag for the winners by Jake Dempsey.

Will Scahill, who was usually double - or treble-marked throughout and – most untypically – failed to score from play, superbly put the lads in sky blue and navy on the scoresheet with a two-point free from the ground into the teeth of the wind in the 12th minute. Single points ensued from Sean Graham (with a goal as his target) and Scahill (from a free), leaving Shandonagh 1-5 to 0-4 in arrears at the end of the opening quarter.

Midfielders Connaire (via the upright) and Monaghan (a great strike) then pounced for a rapid-fire brace of two-pointers for The Downs to double their advantage to eight points. However, Shandonagh responded with a remarkable four-point salvo from the boot of Stephen McWade between the 19th and 24th minutes – a free followed by a classy hat-trick from play.

Dempsey did well to slap away a monster delivery by Connaire before Josh Scahill had a ‘point’ disallowed for overcarrying. Monaghan slotted over a free in the first minute of added-time – a minimum of two was announced – and the losers failed to avail of a scoring opportunity in the last action of the first moiety. At the break, The Downs led by 1-10 to 0-8, but the general consensus among those present was that the wind was worth roughly four/five points.

Will Scahill was well wide of the target from a two-point free within a minute of the resumption, but the same player made amends in the 34th minute by converting a ‘45’. Five minutes later, the gap was down to the bare minimum when a turnover (after The Downs had been attempting to play ‘keep ball’) resulted in a great run goalward by Fionn Carey, who duly set up Graham for a very well-taken goal after dummying Lee Colgan. A point exchange between Will Scahill and Monaghan (the award seemed a little soft), left The Downs ahead by 1-11 to 1-10 at the end of the third quarter.

Monaghan continued to display his worth as a place-kicker by converting a difficult free from the ground, followed by a superbly-struck ‘45’ in the 50th minute.

Shandonagh dug deep again with a quality point from Jake O’Brien, a great score under pressure by McWade, and a free from Will Scahill (the award looked soft).

With the scoring tied at 1-13 apiece and time running out, it was a case of all to play for and it was obvious that nerves were creeping in to both teams’ play. Sub Eoghan Beehan shot a disappointing wide for Shandonagh before a minimum of three minutes’ injury-time was announced. In the first of these, Monaghan converted a free, followed by a narrow wide at the other end from sub Dillon Burke in lots of space.

With time almost up, a monster free from his hands by Will Scahill resulted in a ‘45’ for his side. Strangely, the same player opted to kick the ball backwards from the placed ball and the chance was lost. Seconds later, the final whistle was blown, much to the visible annoyance of the Shandonagh bench.

There were unsavoury scenes after the final whistle as players jostled, while the referee was also targeted as he left the pitch.

When order was restored, Shane Briody, the chairman of the Westmeath Minor Board, presented the Paddy Walshe Cup to a very fitting recipient in Padraig Monaghan from The Downs.

Scorers - The Downs: P Monaghan 0-9 (1 2ptf, 1 2pt, 1‘45’, 4f), A Connaire 0-4 (2 2pt), O McColgan 1-0, A Kiernan 0-1.

Shandonagh: W Scahill 0-6 (1 2ptf, 1‘45’, 3f), S McWade 0-5 (4f), S Graham 1-1, J O’Brien 0-1.

The Downs: Lee Colgan; Sean Flynn, Eoghan Daly, Fionn Kelly; Adam Kiernan, Conor Cleary, Conor Joyce; Aaron Connaire, Padraig Monaghan; Aidan Doyle, Finn Brennan, Ben Loughlin; Odhran McColgan, Josh Murtagh, Ciaran Casserly. Subs used: Ciaran McGrath for Flynn (inj., 23), Aidan Tuite for McColgan (56), Oisín Coyne for Casserly (56).

Shandonagh: Jake Dempsey; Conor Geoghegan, Tomas Brennan, Luke Tully; Jake O’Brien, Tom O’Brien, Fionn Carey; David Reilly, Conor Walsh; Sean Graham, Will Scahill, Michael Fry; Stephen McWade, Josh Scahill, Matthew Webb. Subs used: Dillon Burke for Walsh (40), Eoghan Beehan for Carey (51).

Ref: Eoin Jordan (Athlone).