Shay Murtagh Precast Senior Football Championship: Mullingar Shamrocks 2-9 The Downs 0-9
This is one of our most significant results since the 2018 County Final and a victory that secures a place in the quarter-final of the championship and promotion to Section A for next year’s championship and guarantees our senior status for two more years and the continuation of a sequence that began in 1963. This was a great team victory and that includes the management team led by Enda Monaghan who worked so hard to prepare the team and tactics for this important game.
Mullingar Shamrocks fell behind in the first minute to a point from a Luke Loughlin free before Shamrocks responded with a superb goal in the fourth minute. Shane Ormsby picked out Denis Corroon with a perfect pass and Denis with calculated calmness blasted the ball to the net. An Ian Martin pointed free added to The Downs total. Two Denis Corroon pointed frees in the eight and tenth minutes extended the lead. In their creation and execution, the points were replicas of each other. The strong running of Paddy Fagan drew the fouls and Denis delivered the points. Conor Coughlan pointed for The Downs as Shamrocks dominated and let a few scoring opportunities slip. These included a missed penalty as Dean Moore’s shot went to the wrong side of the post; the restart began a sequence of play that was to end with Conn O’Hanlon scoring a great second goal for Shamrocks.
The Downs created a clear goal scoring opportunity from the missed penalty restart that was brilliantly saved by Eoin Doran. Shamrocks moved the ball downfield and as David Gavin and Conor Coughlan engaged in a bout of all-In wrestling in mid-field (the rules allowed this one time) Conn O’Hanlon finished for a spectacular second goal. A second pointed free from Luke Loughlin and one from play by John O’Reilly concluded the first half scoring with the scoreboard reading 2-3 to 0-4 in favour of Shamrocks.
Luke Loughlin and Jordan Warde exchanged points following the restart, Jordan hand-passing over from a Dean Moore sideline close to the end line. A great Conn O’Hanlon block deprived The Downs of a possible goal before Andrew Kilmartin pointed in the eight minute (2-4 to 0-6). Almost ten minutes later Denis Corroon scored the first of four great pointed frees that kept the scoreboard moving along nicely. The third one was a Denis Corroon special from close to 50 meters – a classic outside of the boot effort that sailed beautifully between the posts. The Downs were also adding to their tally with points from play from Conor Coughlan (a shot for goal that was excellently turned over the bar by Eoin Doran), Ciaran Nolan, and Luke Loughlin. The Shamrocks defence excelled during this second half with the full back line of Dillon Matthews, Davy Gavin and Marc Eivers (Marc’s first half block down of a Luke Loughlin shot was a classic example of a rarely seen skill in the modern game) especially prominent. The final score was converted by Dean Moore who finished a move that included Lorcan Smyth, Brian Guerin (who covered miles of ground on the night), and Efe Siode with one of his classic solo runs.
In the five minutes of overtime, The Downs attacked but failed to break down a well-organized Shamrocks defence and at the final whistle, the scoreboard read 2-9 to 0-9 in favour of Mullingar Shamrocks, a victory for “Little David” as the great Paul O’Donovan might say.
Springfield was a happy place on Saturday night and with good reason as it has been five years or so since we managed a victory over The Downs in any game at senior level and in most of those games we have never come close to matching our neighbours.
One swallow never made a summer as they say but for now it is one game at a time. St Malachy’s will provide stiff opposition in our next outing but as of now JEOPARDY has been replaced by MOMENTUM.
Mullingar Shamrocks: Eoin Doran; Marc Eivers, David Gavin, Dillon Matthews; Conn O’Hanlon (1-0) [Efe Siode], Matt O’Shea, Brendan O’Reilly (Killian Daly); Conor O’Brien (Lorcan Smyth) and Shane Ormsby; Brian Guerin, Patrick Fagan (Conn O’Hanlon), John O’Reilly (0-1) [Davy Coyne]; Dean Moore (0-1), Denis Corroon (1-6), Jordan Warde (0-1).
This is one of our most significant results since the 2018 County Final and a victory that secures a place in the quarter-final of the championship and promotion to Section A for next year’s championship and guarantees our senior status for two more years and the continuation of a sequence that began in 1963. This was a great team victory and that includes the management team led by Enda Monaghan who worked so hard to prepare the team and tactics for this important game.
Mullingar Shamrocks fell behind in the first minute to a point from a Luke Loughlin free before Shamrocks responded with a superb goal in the fourth minute. Shane Ormsby picked out Denis Corroon with a perfect pass and Denis with calculated calmness blasted the ball to the net. An Ian Martin pointed free added to The Downs total. Two Denis Corroon pointed frees in the eight and tenth minutes extended the lead. In their creation and execution, the points were replicas of each other. The strong running of Paddy Fagan drew the fouls and Denis delivered the points. Conor Coughlan pointed for The Downs as Shamrocks dominated and let a few scoring opportunities slip. These included a missed penalty as Dean Moore’s shot went to the wrong side of the post; the restart began a sequence of play that was to end with Conn O’Hanlon scoring a great second goal for Shamrocks.
The Downs created a clear goal scoring opportunity from the missed penalty restart that was brilliantly saved by Eoin Doran. Shamrocks moved the ball downfield and as David Gavin and Conor Coughlan engaged in a bout of all-In wrestling in mid-field (the rules allowed this one time) Conn O’Hanlon finished for a spectacular second goal. A second pointed free from Luke Loughlin and one from play by John O’Reilly concluded the first half scoring with the scoreboard reading 2-3 to 0-4 in favour of Shamrocks.
Luke Loughlin and Jordan Warde exchanged points following the restart, Jordan hand-passing over from a Dean Moore sideline close to the end line. A great Conn O’Hanlon block deprived The Downs of a possible goal before Andrew Kilmartin pointed in the eight minute (2-4 to 0-6). Almost ten minutes later Denis Corroon scored the first of four great pointed frees that kept the scoreboard moving along nicely. The third one was a Denis Corroon special from close to 50 meters – a classic outside of the boot effort that sailed beautifully between the posts. The Downs were also adding to their tally with points from play from Conor Coughlan (a shot for goal that was excellently turned over the bar by Eoin Doran), Ciaran Nolan, and Luke Loughlin. The Shamrocks defence excelled during this second half with the full back line of Dillon Matthews, Davy Gavin and Marc Eivers (Marc’s first half block down of a Luke Loughlin shot was a classic example of a rarely seen skill in the modern game) especially prominent. The final score was converted by Dean Moore who finished a move that included Lorcan Smyth, Brian Guerin (who covered miles of ground on the night), and Efe Siode with one of his classic solo runs.
In the five minutes of overtime, The Downs attacked but failed to break down a well-organized Shamrocks defence and at the final whistle, the scoreboard read 2-9 to 0-9 in favour of Mullingar Shamrocks, a victory for “Little David” as the great Paul O’Donovan might say.
Springfield was a happy place on Saturday night and with good reason as it has been five years or so since we managed a victory over The Downs in any game at senior level and in most of those games we have never come close to matching our neighbours.
One swallow never made a summer as they say but for now it is one game at a time. St Malachy’s will provide stiff opposition in our next outing but as of now JEOPARDY has been replaced by MOMENTUM.
Mullingar Shamrocks: Eoin Doran; Marc Eivers, David Gavin, Dillon Matthews; Conn O’Hanlon (1-0) [Efe Siode], Matt O’Shea, Brendan O’Reilly (Killian Daly); Conor O’Brien (Lorcan Smyth) and Shane Ormsby; Brian Guerin, Patrick Fagan (Conn O’Hanlon), John O’Reilly (0-1) [Davy Coyne]; Dean Moore (0-1), Denis Corroon (1-6), Jordan Warde (0-1).
