Garrycastle take control in second half to sink Shamrocks
Garrycastle 1-15, Mullingar Shamrocks 1-9
Garrycastle kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive with a deserved win over a disappointing Mullingar Shamrocks side in Rochfortbridge last Sunday afternoon.
The eventual winners led by 1-5 to 1-3 at half-time and they generally controlled proceedings in the second period en route to a comfortable victory.
Of the six points Shamrocks scored in the second half, four of them came via a brace of two-pointer frees from goalkeeper Adam Buckley, the second of which was the last kick of the game. This gives some indication of the insipid display produced by Shamrocks on the day.
Already without the services of key player Shane Ormsby, the 46th-minute dismissal of Ben Sheerin on a straight red card was an additional blow for Shamrocks to contend with.
There was more cohesion in Garrycastle’s play but despite this clear-cut victory, they still face a tall order in trying to secure a place in the Westmeath SFC knockout stages. They need to beat face defending champions The Downs in their last game to be sure of progressing, assuming that St Loman’s, Mullingar claim a widely expected victory over pointless Caulry.
On the other hand, there appears to be no set for results that would enable Shamrocks to qualify which means their championship hopes have come to an end.
In a game which never reached any great heights, Dean Moore (a fisted point under pressure) and the impressive Eoin Mulvihill exchanged early points. One of the game’s few standout moments came in the eighth minute when decorated Garrycastle campaigner James Dolan secured possession from a Shamrocks kickout and sent in a long pass to Michael Monaghan, who finished clinically to the net.
Garrycastle had the wind at their backs but it had eased from earlier in the day and scores proved fairly scarce commodities in the first half. Towering Shamrocks midfielder Cristóir Ormsby set up half-chance of a goal for Ryan Kelly, whose shot was deflected over for a point.
Pointed frees were exchanged between Conor Cosgrove and Dean Moore (the latter award seemed soft), in between Alex Gardiner spurning a goal chance when he pulled his shot across the goal and wide.
The Mullingar men struck for a goal in the 20th minute, Davy Gavin finishing with aplomb to give Shamrocks their only lead on the day (1-3 to 1-2).
Gary Dolan’s men responded by scoring three unanswered points before the interval. Gardiner followed up a superbly struck ‘45’ with a point from play (following a great catch at midfield from Eoin Mulvihill). Raising defender Mark McCallon did much of the spade work before the prominent Ben Donegan landed a point, leaving two between the sides at half-time.
Four more Garrycastle points followed in the early stages of the second half. Michael Monaghan, Cathal Mannion (after a flowing move), Cosgrove and Gardiner were the players on target, with the latter two scores coming from frees.
Alex Sheerin supplied Shamrocks’ first score of the second half (42nd minute), but the gradient facing them became steeper when Ben Sheerin was red-carded, after referee Alan Coyne consulted his linesman on the far side. Mark McCallon received a yellow card for his role in the same incident.
After a point from Garrycastle’s Eoin Monaghan, David Martin’s charges boosted their flagging hopes when young goalkeeper Adam Buckley raised an orange flag from a free, which was followed by a single from Moore, making it 1-10 to 1-7.
Yet that was as close as Shamrocks got in the second half. Garrycastle made sure of victory by rattling off five points on the spin. The quintet of points came from the pacy Jason Nugent, Donegan, Cosgrove (a free), Gardiner (his second ‘45) and substitute Jamie Carroll (showing a swift turn of pace en route).
Buckley’s late two-pointer at the other end was of statistical value only as Shamrocks went down with a whimper.
Man of the match: Eoin Mulvihill (Garrycastle). The midfielder was an influential presence throughout in terms of setting up attacks and his overall work rate. Westmeath manager Mark McHugh (along with his father Martin) was in attendance and Mulvihill looks like a player worthy of strong consideration for next year's county panel. Ben Donegan also impressed with his industry and enterprising play.
What's next: Garrycastle will face The Downs in a crunch encounter next Sunday at TEG Cusack Park (5pm). At the same time, Mullingar Shamrocks will return to the impressive St Mary's, Rochfortbridge facilities to play high-flying Coralstown-Kinnegad.
Scorers - Garrycastle: M Monaghan 1-1; A Gardiner 0-4 (2 ‘45s, 1f); C Cosgrove 0-3 (3f); B Donegan 0-2; E Mulvihill, E Monaghan, C Mannion, J Nugent and J Carroll 0-1 each. Mullingar Shamrocks: A Buckley 0-4 (2tpf); D Gavin 1-0; D Moore 0-3 (2f); R Kelly and A Sheerin 0-1 each.
Garrycastle - Sean Brennan; Fergal McKiernan, Jack Donohue, Gary McCallon; James Dolan, Mark McCallon, Cathal Mannion; Eoin Mulvihill, Oisin Mulvihill; Ben Donegan, Alex Gardiner, Jason Nugent; Conor Cosgrove, Michael Monaghan, Eoin Monaghan. Subs: Bill Kelly for Donohue (inj.); John Gaffey for McKiernan (inj.); Jamie Carroll for Nugent; Cian McCarthy for O. Mulvihill; Rory McGowan for Mannion.
Mullingar Shamrocks - Adam Buckley; Ben Sheerin, Efe Siode, Dillon Matthews; Marc Eivers, Brendan O’Reilly, Brian Guerin; Cristóir Ormsby, Tye Masterson; Ryan Kelly, Davy Gavin, Denis Corroon; Alex Sheerin, Paul Keating, Dean Moore. Subs: Killian Mooney and Alan Cashman for Keating and Gavin; Donal Lane for Kelly.
Referee - Alan Coyne.