Marathon run just falls short
November 30, 2009They had played out an enthralling final against Seneschalstown on the first Sunday of the month which went to extra-time and when the teams couldn't be separated after over 80 minutes of action it was back to the headquarters of the GAA in Meath four days later for the replay under floodlights.
That game heralded the end of a hectic championship schedule for Wolfe Tones who had also drawn their semi-final against Navan O'Mahonys after extra-time, before winning the replay, but at the end of it all there was bitter disappointment as their trojan efforts failed to deliver a second Keegan Cup in the space of four years.
Instead it was Seneschalstown who regained the trophy they had won in 2007, also after a replay against Navan O'Mahonys, and earned the right to represent the county in the Leinster Club Championship the following Sunday. The attendance for the replay was up on that for the drawn match and what value they got for the reduced admission charge.
After experiencing so much success under the guidance of Tony Kearney, Tones had a new man at the helm this year in former O'Mahonys' player Cathal O'Bric as they attempted to improve on last year's achievements of reaching the championship semi-finals, where they lost to Summerhill, and the A League Division 1 decider where Blackhall Gaels defeated them.
Alan Fox was their captain this year and they were drawn in group C of the SFC which also included Summerhill, who had lost the 2008 final to O'Mahonys, Dunshaughlin, Rathkenny and Trim. And it was against Trim that they opened their campaign in less than convincing fashion at Pairc Tailteann.
Tones won by 1-12 to 0-13 against a wasteful Trim team, with the key score coming seven minutes into the second half when Niall McLoughlin goaled. The town side led by 0-6 to 0-5 at the interval after playing against the wind, but Darren McGrath scored an equalising point and when McLoughlin netted they were ahead by 1-6 to 0-6.
Trim battled back to parity by scoring the next three points, but they were unable to go ahead. The teams were still level with five minutes remaining, but Cian Ward and McLoughlin got the points which sealed victory. A feature of the match was the performance of losers' goalkeeper Niall Murray who foiled Fox, Rossa McDonnell and McGrath with brilliant saves.
Tones got a slice of revenge for last year's semi-final defeat when they beat Summerhill by 1-12 to 1-9 at Athboy. The 'Hill made a great start with a Rory Donnelly goal, but O'Bric's team played very well in the second quarter and were ahead by 0-8 to 1-4 at the break, with three of their points coming from Ward.
Summerhill pushed ahead by 1-7 to 0-8 early in the second half, but Tones got moving again and two Ward frees had them level. He then netted from a penalty after Gordon Beggy was fouled and they were in front by 1-10 to 1-7. The sides shared four points after that, with Paul Byrne and Ward on target for Tones, but they had an anxious moment near the end when Stephen Kennedy had claims for a penalty turned down.
When the championship action resumed after a lengthy break a much improved second half performance enabled Wolfe Tones to defeat Rathkenny by 0-15 to 0-5 in the third round at Pairc Tailteann. The first half wasn't good to look at and Tones were ahead by 0-3 to 0-2 at the interval after they had kicked nine wides.
Tones might well have been behind at that stage because Sean Power saved a 22nd minute penalty from Richie Timmons. But things got much better in the second period when they added a dozen points, with five of them coming from Ward, and they were safely through to the knockout stages.
An improved display followed in the last round of group games when they beat Dunshaughlin by 2-12 to 0-11, also at Pairc Tailteann. It was all over bar the shouting at the change of ends after goals from McGrath and Mark Coleman had helped Tones to lead by 2-6 to 0-4.
A third successive championship visit to Pairc Tailteann brought a comprehensive 1-18 to 0-9 quarter-final win over Dunboyne. Ward was in magnificent form, scoring four brilliant points from play, and Tones were well on their way to the last four when they led by 1-10 to 0-5 at the break.
They were ahead by 1-2 to 0-0 as early as the fifth minute, by which stage Dunboyne 'keeper Johnny O'Connor had denied Ward a goal and Coleman had palmed to the net. It was a case of going through the motions in the second half on a day when Ward scored six points, Niall McLoughlin got five and Coleman contributed 1-2.
Wolfe Tones had played five championship games at that stage and they would clock up plenty more miles as the battle for the Keegan Cup intensified, starting with a semi-final against champions Navan O'Mahonys which finished level (0-14 each) after extra-time, with Ward scoring a stunning equaliser from a free to force a replay. That score wasn't the only major talking point after the match as Tones had Stephen Corrigan red carded just before Ward's kick.
O'Mahonys started well when David Bray pointed them in front inside 20 seconds, but Tones were ahead by 0-4 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter after McGrath, Fox, Paul Byrne and Ward (free) had hit the target. They were well on top, but four wides in that spell prevented them from opening up a big advantage.
Niall McLoughlin stretched the lead to four, but O'Mahonys replied with points from Henry Finnegan, Shane McKeigue and Ross Geraghty to cut the deficit to the minimum. Tones were still a point ahead (0-7 to 0-6) at the break after Byrne and Ward (free) had added to their tally, with Cormac McGuinness and Finnegan on the mark for O'Mahonys.
Playing against the wind, O'Mahonys were ahead early in the second half thanks to points by Lee Russell and Geraghty and as Tones wasted chances the town side were still the minimum in front at the three-quarter stage. However, Tones responded with scores from Ward (two frees) and Sheppard to edge into the lead at 0-10 to 0-8.
With the excitement building McGuinness and Finnegan (free) levelled things up, Ward gave Tones the lead again with a brilliant point and Paddy Smyth had the last say in normal time when he kicked the equaliser. The scoreboard read 0-11 each and it was on to extra-time.
Geraghty and Smyth gave O'Mahonys a good start to the additional 20 minutes with points, but after Smyth hit a post with a goal chance, Ward pointed to leave Tones adrift by 0-12 to 0-13 at the end of the first period. He equalised from a free, Geraghty put O'Mahonys back in front and Ward had the last word with a great leveller from the stand side of the pitch.
With Corrigan's red card from the drawn match rescinded following an appeal, lodged on the grounds that extra-time should not have been played because prior concent had not been sought, he took his place at midfield for the replay which Wolfe Tones won by 0-11 to 0-8. Ward contributed six points, five of them from frees, and there was also a notable tally from Paul Byrne who scored three points from play.
McGuinness drew first blood for O'Mahonys, but a brace of long range frees by Ward and a fine point from play by Sheppard edged Tones 0-3 to 0-1 ahead. Shane Crosby and Smyth had the Navan men level, but the 2006 champions pushed into a 0-8 to 0-4 interval advantage thanks to two further points from Ward (one of them from a superbly struck line ball), a couple from Byrne and one from McGrath.
Two pointed frees by Ward were the only scores of the third quarter as Tones pushed six clear and Sheppard nearly put the issue beyond doubt when his fisted effort hit the crossbar. Finnegan and Bray gave O'Mahonys hope with points, but when Byrne split the uprights again O'Bric's team looked safe with a five-point cushion.
The champions refused to throw in the towel and David Murtagh and Gary O'Brien replied to cut the gap to a goal. Tones were happy to hear the final whistle as they held out under pressure with O'Mahonys searching for an equaliser.
The final against Seneschalstown was fixed for Sunday, 25th October, but it didn't go ahead because it was anticipated that O'Mahonys would lodge an appeal against Corrigan's participation in the semi-final replay. However, the appeal didn't materialise and the big showdown went ahead on the first day of November.
This was a drama-filled encounter which ended level (1-13 each) after extra-time, with Brian Sheridan slotting over a tricky free three minutes into injury time to force a replay. Ward had earlier rescued Wolfe Tones with a pointed free at the end of injury time in normal time and a draw was probably a fair outcome.
Tones made a dream start when Ward finished off a move involving Eoghan Harrington, Coleman and Fox for a goal in the second minute and a Ward point from a long range free left them four clear after six minutes. But Seneschalstown didn't let them get away and a Stephen Finnegan point was followed by a fisted Gary Conlon goal which tied the scores.
Bryan Clarke gave Seneschalstown the lead from a free at the end of the first quarter, but Tones edged ahead with points from McGrath and Ward (free), before they finished the opening half well with scores from McGrath, Fox and Ward (free) to lead by 1-6 to 1-2 at the interval. It might have been a significantly bigger advantage, but Ward was denied a second goal by a brilliant save from David Lyons.
Ward stretched Tones' lead from a free early in the second period, but Seneschalstown took over and scored five points in a productive spell when McGrath supplied the only reply at the other end. The advantage was down to 1-8 to 1-7 by the 53rd minute and the Yellow Furze men were soon in front after Brian Sheridan pointed a free and Stephen Finnegan kicked what looked like being the winner.
But there was further drama as Ward slotted over the equaliser deep into injury time after Gerry Sheridan was adjudged to have over-carried. It finished 1-9 apiece and Tones were facing more extra-time.
Brian Sheridan (free) and Clarke got the opening two points in the added 20 minutes, but Ward pulled one back from a place ball and Seneschalstown led by 1-11 to 1-10 at the break. It should have been level because a superb Ward free was wrongly signalled wide. McGrath and Sheppard pointed to leave Tones ahead during the second period, but Brian Sheridan levelled things up from a free.
Tones hit the front again courtesy of a Ward free, but Sheridan had the last word when he held his nerve to slot over the equaliser. Neither team deserved to lose after playing out a gripping contest and with the eventual winners set to play in the Leinster Championship the following Sunday, the replay was announced for Thursday night - just four days after the drawn match.
This was an historic occasion for the GAA in Meath - a midweek final played under lights - and two goals in quick succession at the start of the second quarter proved decisive as Seneschalstown won another memorable encounter by 2-8 to 1-8.
Tones were best in the early exchanges, but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard and Brian Sheridan pointed Seneschalstown ahead on seven minutes. Tones had a golden opportunity to go ahead in the 14th minute when Ward was fouled by Andrew Collins, but he sent the resultant penalty over the bar. He had missed two frees earlier.
Seneschalstown opened up a decisive lead when they scored 2-3 in an eight-minute spell, including goals from Brian Sheridan after 16 minutes and his brother Joe soon after and with a 2-4 to 0-1 lead by the 22nd minute they were looking good. McGrath and Corrigan replied with points for Wolfe Tones and they trailed by 0-3 to 2-4 at the interval.
They suffered a big blow when goalkeeper David Nolan was sent off by referee Joey Curley as the second half was about to commence, apparently as a result of an incident with Joe Sheridan as the teams left the pitch at half-time, and Sean Power took his place between the posts.
Points from Joe Sheridan and Robert Ruddy were countered by a brace from Ward and Seneschalstown led by 2-6 to 0-5 at the three-quarter stage. But Tones refused to lie down and with Ward finding his scoring touch they battled back, reducing the gap to three points by the 52nd minute after their top marksman had netted. Mark Carey gave the Yellow Furze side breathing space with their last point in the 58th minute, but with almost four minutes of injury time played there was still time for a recovery.
Ward's sixth point of the replay cut the gap to three again and there was further drama when Lyons denied Gordon Beggy an equalising goal with a great save. It was a tremendous battling effort from Wolfe Tones who were left to regret their 13 wides.
The Wolfe Tones team in the replayed final was: D Nolan; R Brady, C McLoughlin, C Martin; B McGinn, E Harrington, G Beggy; S Corrigan (0-1), S Sheppard; D McGrath (0-1), N McLoughlin, M Coleman; A Fox, C Ward (1-6), P Byrne. Subs - S Power for McGrath, A McKeown for C McLoughlin, A Callaghan for Byrne, J McKeown for Coleman. Tweet
