Plunkett's power past Castletown Geoghegan to reach minor final

St Oliver Plunkett's 3-15, Castletown Geoghegan 1-6

By Shane King

As Storm Amy blew out across the country, its blustery conditions forced the postponement of many fixtures last weekend. The pitch in Castletown Geoghegan, however, held up well, allowing the minor semi-final to go ahead, where St Oliver Plunkett’s produced a storming display to claim a 12-point win over the home side.

The strong gusts made for difficult conditions, but Plunkett’s settled quickly and never looked back after Eoin Meehan’s fifth-minute goal gave them the perfect platform. Castletown struggled against a much more physical opponent, though they produced some fine moments, with Dylan Corrigan and Mikey Devine landing good scores.

Plunkett’s, however, carried far greater firepower in attack. Meehan, Pádraig Casey, and Rory O’Brien all shone as the Mullingar side eased into a final meeting with Clonkill in two weeks’ time.

St Oliver Plunkett’s started brightly and opened the scoring in the third minute when Pádraig Casey struck over a ’65. Castletown Geoghegan hit back almost immediately with Dylan Corrigan pointing from play, before Casey restored the Mullingar side’s lead with a free from inside the 45 metre line.

The even start was quickly broken as Plunkett’s hit two devastating goals in quick succession.

With the breeze hampering the Castletown puck-out, the opponents capitalised when Eoin Meehan rifled to the net, and moments later Rory O’Brien pounced on a delivery to raise the second green flag.

Both sides then exchanged scores, Meehan and Mikey Devine pointing from play, before O’Brien added another with a fine solo effort, collecting a puck-out and driving through the centre of the field.

Castletown gave themselves a lifeline when Rory Quinn delivered a good ball into Thomas Wrafter, who finished smartly to the net. But Plunkett’s soon reasserted control, hitting five unanswered points. Casey led the way with three placed balls, two frees and a ’65, while Eoin Meehan added two from play. Indeed, Meehan could have inflicted even more damage with threatening goal chances, but goalkeeper Daire Fagan pulled off two superb saves to keep Castletown in touch.

Corrigan added a converted free on the stroke of half-time to leave the scoreboard reading 2-9 to 1-3 in Plunkett’s favour.

The second half began as the first had ended, Meehan pointing within seconds after a slick move to further underscore their dominance. Corrigan replied with a free after Mikey Devine was fouled, but from there it was largely one-way traffic.

St Oliver Plunkett’s struck for their third goal when they turned over possession deep in defence and broke with speed, O’Brien applying the finish for his second of the day.

The winners continued to dominate, with Will Scahill, two from O’Brien, and Adam Buckley, following a fine pass from Seán Hayes, all adding to the tally.

To their credit, Castletown kept battling with Corrigan clipping over two more frees in the closing stages as part of a spirited team effort.

But the game petered out tamely, with only one further score for Plunkett’s, a superb 51st-minute point from Meehan, who caught a puck-out and turned instantly to split the posts from distance to bring the game to a close on a scoreline of 3-15 to 1-06.

Plunkett’s now march into the final with real momentum, their blend of power and precision marking them out as serious contenders for the title.

Scorers - St. Oliver Plunkett’s: P Casey 0-5 (3f 2 ‘65), E Meehan 1-5, R O’Brien 2-3, Will Scahill and A Buckley 0-1 each. Castletown Geoghegan: D Corrigan 0-5 (4f), T Wrafter 1-0, and M Devine 0-1.

St. Oliver Plunkett’s: Ryan McNamee; Robert Hogg, Michael Weir, Conor Walshe; Charlie Foy, Sean Hayes, Hugo Sleator; Ben McNamee, Criostoir Ormsby; Pádraig Casey, Rory O’Brien, Eoin Meehan; Michael Fry, Adam Buckley, Will Scahill. Subs: Oisín Ó Muirí for Fry (50), Tom Weir for Sleator (56), Darragh Vickery for Buckley (58), Tom O’Brien for R O’Brien (58), Oisín Gavin for Hogg (58).

Castletown Geoghegan: Daire Fagan; Oisín McCabe, David O’Malley, James Connolly; Dara Mulligan, Patrick Moloney, Conor Maloney; Cian Corcoran, Eoin Carey; Aaron Jackson, Dylan Corrigan, Cillian Clarke; Mikey Devine, Rory Quinn, Thomas Wrafter. Subs: Ricky Loran for McCabe (24), Billy Whelan for Jackson (42), Luke Robinson for Connolly (47), Shane Maloney for Clarke (47), Shane Carey for Quinn (49).

Referee: Caymon Flynn (St. Brigid’s).