New generation of players offers Milltown hope

IFC final - analysis

Milltown produced a ruthless second-half display to dismantle Shandonagh in Sunday’s Intermediate Football Championship final at TEG Cusack Park.

Barry Downey’s charges totally dominated. Last week’s preview concluded thus: ‘how Shandonagh cope with Duncan’s threat may well decide things’. Jack Duncan was the player in focus, and Shandonagh had no answer to his class or industry. His display epitomised what Milltown brought to the table.

This is how you win a county final. With Matthew and Luke Gunning to the fore in their respective wing-back and corner-forward positions, Milltown took over, and Shandonagh failed to get a handle on the game in the middle third. Dylan Murtagh led his Milltown troops from midfield, and all around him, players stood up. Their collective display was such that selecting a ‘Man of The Match’ posed a serious challenge: there was no over-reliance on any individual. Their forward line got 11 scores from play, and all six men were on the scoresheet.

Conor Gibney’s absence could potentially have derailed them – his presence at centre-back throughout the campaign has been one of the team’s strengths – but instead, Shane O’Malley slotted in, and everyone else stepped up to the plate.

Westmeath football badly needs a team from the outskirts to step forward and challenge the big, powerful urban clubs who have dominated in the past decade or more. It’s not good when you can say with confidence who will be the two big players before a ball is kicked at senior or intermediate level. Milltown are following Tubberclair into senior football, and on the back of what the Glasson-based club achieved this year, the hope is that the Rathconrath side will progress and offer a stern challenge also.

Milltown are physically impressive, and their relentless style of play is well suited to the senior grade. They have players who have shown promise for Westmeath at minor and U20 level – the likes of Ben McGauran, the Gunning brothers, Jack Duncan and Sean Dillon – and now is the time to carry that forward into the top flight.

The facile nature of the victory meant there was little for neutrals to savour. Shandonagh’s capitulation will lead to a period of reflection at the club, and it needs to. From the moment Henry Duncan slotted the ball to the net for the opening goal, this final was over as a contest.

Shandonagh ought to have been much more competitive here, but it seemed as if they had accepted their fate in the absence of top scorer Brian Kavanagh and injured wing-forwards Conor McCrossan and Luke Tynan.

Manager Ray Sheridan has taken the team to two Intermediate finals in succession, but Sunday’s 18-point defeat presents a dilemma. Shandonagh will feel that they have talented minor players emerging who can boost their chances of getting to senior level, but clearly, it’s going to take a major improvement if that’s to happen next year. Four scores from play on Sunday underlines the challenge that lies ahead. Danny Scahill apart, they were a pale shadow of the team who troubled Tubberclair in last year’s decider.

Brian Kavanagh, who scored six two-pointers in their first-round draw with Milltown, was a massive loss, but Shandonagh’s over-reliance on their full-forward left them exposed. They were nine points clear in the second half of that game but had to scramble for a late equalising point, and that shows how they must develop as a team if they’re to establish themselves at senior level.

However, Sunday was all about Milltown, and it will be a special week for the club. For so many years, they have toiled at underage level, working with Ballymore in an effort to develop the players that would carry the flag in the adult grade. This was a victory for all those people invested in that project. It’s a case of mission accomplished.

They have produced some great young players, and while it was an opportunity for the likes of Frank McLoughlin and Paul Mahon to enjoy their swansong, this is about a new generation of footballers who are capable of being competitive at senior level.