The Gaels toppled Raharney a year ago
Selvin’s Coaches Westmeath Senior ‘A’ hurling final
Lough Lene Gaels 2-19
Raharney 1-14
Gerry Buckley
A hungrier and more focused Lough Lene Gaels outfit were full value for their eight-point winning margin against an off-colour Raharney side when they clashed in the third round of the Westmeath senior hurling championship at TEG Cusack Park last year.
The two teams had contrasting fortunes in round two, so for the Collinstown men this was a crucial tie to re-energize their quest for the Westmeath Examiner Cup.
Lough Lene Gaels led by 1-6 to 0-4 with 19 minutes on the clock, Aaron Kennedy with the goal. Killian Doyle converted a Raharney free and this was followed by a preventable goal scored by Callum McKeogh to leave the margin at the bare minimum. In the closing stages of the first half, Joey Williams’ troops outscored their opponents by three points (all from David Williams – a superb lineball, a free, and the last score of the half from play) to one (a Doyle free) to lead by an unflattering three-point margin at the break (1-9 to 1-6).
Doyle slotted over a ‘65’ after Eoghan Ahearn had been denied by Conaty directly from the throw-in to the second moiety. Aaron Kennedy (a quality score) and Williams (a ‘65’ after a spectacular Derek McNicholas effort had been saved by McHugh) increased the ‘Yellow Bellies’ advantage. Point exchanges followed via Doyle (another ‘65’ – again Ahearn had been denied at the near post) and Shane Williams, and Marcus Kennedy (from a tight angle) and Doyle (a free).
An unanswered 1-3 between the 42nd and 48th minutes put the men in purple and gold firmly in control. The goal was a batted effort from Marcus Kennedy (when astutely set up by McNicholas), and points followed courtesy of Jason Malone, and two from David Williams (a free and a ‘65’). The gap was now ten points (2-16 to 1-9).
A mini-revival from John Shaw’s men yielded a hat-trick of unanswered points from the sticks of Rory Keyes (a free), sub Ciaran Doyle, and David Hickey (a free). However, they never looked remotely likely to stage a winning comeback. Eoin Daly (a lovely score on the run) and Eoin Keyes swapped points, as did David Williams and Darren Finn (whose lobbed free in injury-time was assumedly meant to drop into the square), before Malone doubled his tally with the last puck of the evening to round off a decisive win for the Gaels.
Scorers - Lough Lene Gaels: D Williams 0-10 (5f, 2‘65’, 1s/l), A Kennedy 1-2, M Kennedy 1-1, S Williams, J Malone 0-2 each, E Daly, J Egan 0-1 each.
Raharney: K Doyle 0-8 (5f, 2‘65’), C McKeogh 1-0, J Boyle, R Keyes (f), C Doyle, D Hickey (f), E Keyes, D Finn (f) 0-1 each.
Lough Lene Gaels: Noel Conaty; Daire Daly, Dan Higgins, Daragh Qamar; Philip Reilly, Micheál Daly, John Egan; Brendan Doyle, Shane Williams; Derek McNicholas, David Williams, Jason Malone; Aaron Kennedy, Tommy Doyle, Marcus Kennedy. Subs used: Eoin Daly for D Daly (23), Jordan Williams for A Kennedy (inj., 42), Thomas Kennedy for M Kennedy (53).
Raharney: Aaron McHugh; Conor McKeogh, Jamie Mulkearns, Luke Darby; David Hickey, Rory Keyes, Gary Greville; Cormac Boyle, Callum McKeogh; Joey Boyle, Killian Doyle, Robert Coyne; Eamon Cunneen, Eoin Keyes, Eoghan Ahearn. Subs used: Joe Mulvaney (blood, 22-30), Darren Finn for C Boyle (42), Ciaran Doyle for K Doyle (49), Joe Mulvaney for Cunneen (49).
Ref: Alfie Devine (Castlepollard).
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