St Loman’s rule the roost in second half

GAA Shay Murtagh Precast Senior Football Championship semi-final

Discipline, structure and experience won the day in TEG Cusack Park last Sunday evening as St Loman’s, Mullingar produced a stunning second-half display to overcome Coralstown/Kinnegad in the second of this year’s SFC semi-finals.

Jack Cooney’s Kinnegad charges claimed bragging rights in this fixture last year and after 20-odd minutes of football looked to be cruising, but they failed to go for the jugular from there and a 23rd-minute goal from Sean Flanagan kept St Loman’s in contention.

The Mullingar men still trailed by six at the break (1-9 to 1-3) and while they were helped by the breeze on the change of ends, a bigger factor was Kinnegad’s loss of shape and discipline in the third quarter. John Heslin came to the fore and punished the Reds with a series of two-point frees.

Crucially, Kinnegad were reduced to 14 men after 48 minutes and from then on, last year’s finalists were always chasing it, with St Loman’s pulling away for an impressive ten-point win.

The result means that St Loman’s will renew acquaintances with holders The Downs in next month’s SFC final, where they will hope to capture the Flanagan Cup for the ninth time in 14 seasons.

After mixed fortunes in the group stage, Paddy Dowdall’s charges are nevertheless unbeaten and have upped the ante at the business end of the championship. While they will go into next month’s decider as underdogs, it’s a tag they will undoubtedly thrive under. For Coralstown/Kinnegad, meanwhile, it’s back to the drawing board as their hunt for SFC honours passes the 30-year mark.

A very different result looked on the cards at the end of the first quarter when Kinnegad, the breeze on their backs, raced into a 1-6 to nil lead.

Ger Leech got the ball running with a superb two-pointer off his right boot before Darren Giles squared for Brían Cooney to tap over his first point.

St Loman’s drew a few blanks at the other end before Dan Leech, after another pacy counter-attack, sauntered through the middle unmarked to fire over Coralstown/Kinnegad’s fourth point.

Mark Tunney, a surprise starter at corner forward for the Blues, had a shot cleared off the line after 11 minutes and at the other end, Kinnegad had better luck a minute later when Cooney, after catching an inch-perfect long ball from Ger Leech, fisted across the face of goal and Ciaran Daly Jr bundled the ball over the line. Claims of a square ball were dismissed.

A minute later, Jack Torpey piled on further pressure on St Loman’s when his speculative two-point effort bounced over the bar. A full 15 minutes had elapsed before Danny McCartan finally opened the St Loman’s account.

That McCartan point started with Kinnegad pinging a scoreable free off the upright, and in the second quarter the Reds failed to build on their sizeable advantage.

Josh Gahan added to their lead but within minutes, the Blues shaved four points off that deficit. John Heslin found his range with a terrific free, kicking into the Dunnes Stores end from the tightest of angles.

Darren Giles then went short with a two-point kick for Kinnegad and, on the break, Heslin played a long ball into Sean Flanagan who, despite being manhandled, steeled himself and fired to the net on the turn. Game on.

Kinnegad needed wind in their sails it arrived courtesy of a Brían Cooney two-pointer on 27 minutes – a lovely strike off the upright – but Heslin pulled one back for the Saints from a free in stoppage time.

The Blues almost had a second goal just before the break but Stephen McNevin was equal to another shot from debutant Mark Tunney. Coralstown/Kinnegad led 1-9 to 1-3 at the short whistle.

With the wind advantage switching the way of St Loman’s after the restart, they needed a powerful third quarter, but some early misses ensued. Shane Dempsey had a goalbound shot blocked by Kinnegad’s Liam Daly, while John Heslin cannoned a two-point free – awarded after Kinnegad breached positional rules – off the upright.

With 35 minutes gone, it started to happen for the Blues when Sam McCartan plucked a dangerous Ger Leech ball out of the air, starting and finishing a move that ended with him slicing a neat two-pointer over the bar.

Brían Cooney responded with a lovely curled point for Kinnegad but all was not well the Reds in terms of their general shape and discipline. John Heslin kicked a two-point free to further reduce the arrears and then repeated the feat moments later, when Kinnegad were punished for dissent.

That left a point between the sides and on 47 minutes, St Loman’s took the lead for the first time (1-11 to 1-10) when Danny McCartan fired a wonderful two-pointer over the black spot.

Heslin then found his range with another free from beyond the arc, moments after Coralstown/Kinnegad’s Jason Macken was sent to the line for an off-the-ball strike on Mikey Weir. Meanwhile, Shane Dempsey extended the St Loman’s lead to four, doing well to kick over while losing his footing.

On 51 minutes, Kinnegad were again punished for dissent and had a free moved into Heslin’s two-point shooting zone; the decorated Westmeath veteran obliged once more.

With Kinnegad six adrift, ‘keeper Stephen McNevin stemmed the tide with a two-point free and Jack Cooney threw Shane Fleming into the fray to shore up the attack. Brían Cooney curled over the bar on 58 minutes to put pressure on St Loman’s in the closing minutes.

However, it all came apart for 14-man Kinnegad thereafter. After McNevin went short with a kickout, corner back Eoghan Bracken found himself all alone and was dispossessed by Sean Flanagan. The ball found its way to Shane Dempsey – coming into his own at this stage – who shot over with a possible goal on.

At the other end, Shane Fleming had a pot-shot saved by Jason Daly and when St Loman’s broke downfield, Heslin almost conjured a goal but settled for a point after the ball was recycled.

Dempsey, now brimming with confidence, shot the lights out with a wonderful two-pointer and then, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, picked out the inrushing Flanagan with a superb long ball.

With not a Kinnegad defender in sight, the midfielder skilfully flicked the ball into his grasp, rounded McNevin and smashed to the net to complete the rout. A fascinating final awaits.

Scorers - St Loman’s: J Heslin 0-11 (2f, 4 2ptf), S Flanagan 2-0, S Dempsey 0-4 (1 2pt), D McCartan 0-3 (1 2pt), S McCartan 0-2 (2pt). Coralstown/Kinnegad: B Cooney 0-5 (1 2pt), C Daly Jr 1-0, G Leech (2pt), J Torpey (2pt) and S McNevin (2ptf) 0-2 each, D Leech and J Gahan 0-1 each.

St Loman’s, Mullingar: Jason Daly; Mikey Weir, Darragh O’Keeffe, Nathan Lally; David Whelan, Jack Geoghegan, Eoghan Hogan; Sean Flanagan, Sam McCartan; Cillian Plunkett, John Heslin, Neil Duffy; Mark Tunney, Danny McCartan, Shane Dempsey.

Subs used: Kelvin Reilly for Tunney (54), Kevin Regan for Duffy (57), Conor O’Donoghue for Weir (60+3), Ciaran Smyth for Lally (60+4).

Coralstown/Kinnegad: Stephen McNevin; Eoin O’Brien, David Giles, Eoghan Bracken; Josh Gahan, Jason Macken, Liam Daly; Ciaran Daly Jr, Brían Cooney; Rory Cole, Darren Giles, James Maxwell; Jack Torpey, Dan Leech, Ger Leech.

Subs used: Connor Callaghan for G Leech (48), Danny Woods for Gahan (54), Shane Fleming for Torpey (54), Podge Quinn for O’Brien (56), Brian McGrath for C Daly Jr (60+4).

Referee: Alan Coyne (Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall).