Under-19 Football Championship Div. 11 Semi-Final: Mullingar Shamrocks 0-15 The Downs 3-13

Mullingar Shamrocks exited the Under-19 championship on Saturday afternoon in Springfield when losing out to The Downs by a seven-point margin. Shamrocks began smartly and established an 0-4 to 0-0 lead after ten minutes courtesy of three pointed frees by Ollie MacNamara and a fine long-range effort from Ciarán Kiernan. The next ten minutes were the critical ones in determining the final result as The Downs struck for two goals in quick succession from the Óisin Loughlin and Óisin Murray. Mickey Curley pulled off two great saves during this phase of The Downs dominance. Daniel O’Connor, Darragh Lynch (0-2) and Brian Gaffney added points as Shamrocks lost their way and drifted to 2-4 to 0-4 deficit. Points from Mark Shaw (0-2) and Shane Ormsby sparked a revival of sorts before a third Darragh Lynch goal undid the good work and at the interval The Downs led by 3-4 to 0-7.

The second half was relatively even with The Downs comfortable with a six-point lead outscoring Shamrocks by just a single point during the half (0-9 to 0-8). Ollie MacNamara’s free taking skills were on display as he added 0-5 to Shamrocks total from placed balls- the majority coming from fouls committed on Ollie himself. There was a great Shane Ormsby score that began with a superb catch from Shane operating at midfield at this stage and ended with Shane kicking a glorious point with the left boot. Luke McCabe and John Ryan also shot tidy points with Mikey Curley also saving well to deny The Downs a fourth goal. Darragh Lynch (0-3), Brain Gaffney (0-2), Óisin Loughlin, Conor Daly, Alan Colgan and Tadgh Nolan ensured that The Downs were safely ahead when Alan Coyne blew the final whistle.

Gary Corroon and Vinney Timoney are to be complimented for their work with this group and as a result of their efforts Shamrocks had 30 players togged out on Saturday. Well done lads.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Mikey Curley, Enda Keating (Gary Brannigan), Ben Egan (John Ryan, 0-1), Ruairi Hickey; Rian Adamson, Aaron Russell (Ben White), William O’Reilly (Matthew Ryan); Ciarán Kiernan (0-1), Tomass Turks; Adam Boyle (Luke McCabe, 0-1), Daithí Ó Mairtín, Tom Hickey (Daragh Hughes); Shane Ormsby (0-2), Mark Shaw (0-2) and Ollie MacNamara (0-9).