Westmeath GAA notes
November 23, 2015
End of the Road for Lomans & Milltown
Both Westmeath club sides who were in action on Sunday 22nd November bowed out of this years Leinster championship losing to Dublin and Longford representatives respectively.
St Lomans Mullingar carried the standard into the Leinster Senior Club Semi final with Dublin champions Ballyboden St Endas their opponents. A crowd in the region of 3500 made their way to Cusack Park for the eagerly anticipated clash which in all honesty failed to live up to expectations. A tightly contested opening twenty minutes saw St Lomans more than hold their own against Ballyboden but the game's defining moments hinged on two goal chances; one for each side. Donegal Goalkeeper Paul Durcan made a vital save in the 23rd minute from David Windsor when the scores were tied at 0-4 apiece. But it was Sam Molony's strike in the final minutes of the half that helped the visitors into a 1-7 to 0-6 half time lead which proved vital. The second half proved disappointing as a spectacle with referee Fergal Smyth awarding 29 frees in what turned out to be a very scrappy affair. The first half goal ultimately made the difference as Ballboden just kept out of reach of a battling St Lomans side. John Heslin posted 0-7 for the home side with Paul Sharry and Ken Casey making up the St Lomans total of nine points. The final score of 1-11 to 0-9 was an accurate enough margin to decide the game.
Milltown were also in Semi final action in the Leinster Junior Football semi final as they had an early start against St Brigids Kilashee at Pearse Park Longford on Sunday morning. Milltown will feel that they left this one behind losing by 4-4 to 2-6 in a feisty affair against the Longford Intermediate runners up. The Westmeath men had 1-1 on the board early on but surprisingly they were very brittle at the back conceding three first half goals to trail by 3-2 to 1-2 at half time. Milltown hit back with a goal in the second minute of the second half to come back into contention and looked to have the momentum with them when drawing level at 3-3 to 2-6 with five minutes remaining. However, their discipline let them down and a goal in the final minute saw the Longford team qualify for the Provincial final on Sunday 6th December.
Leinster Intermediate Final:
Its a case of last man standing next weekend as Athlone remain the final Westmeath representatives in Leinster as they contest the Intermediate final against Ratoath from Meath. The final is set for Cusack Park on Saturday 28th November but at this stage this is pending confirmation. Athlone who are back at Senior level for 2016 will be looking at this as a huge opportunity to gain a Provincial crown though it wont be easy against the Meath champions. To qualify for the final Athlone have dispatched Ballymanus(Wicklow),O Hanrahans(Carlow) and Glynn Barntown(Wexford). Rathoath have so far defeated St Pats Donabate(Dublin),Railyard(Kilkenny) and Castledermot(Kildare) to reach the final. Both clubs have long histories with Athone to the fore in Westmeath at Senior level for their entire history until this season. While Ratoath were predominately a Hurling club for a long number of years only coming to prominence at football in the recent past wining a Meath Junior title in 2004 and their first Intermediate crown this year. Looking at Athlone's opponents, they are a little bit of an unknown quantity in this neck of the woods though they do have some excellent players in Eamon Wallace at corner forward and Shane Duffy who was Monaghan goalkeeper for a number of years. As a club Ratoath have become very prominent at Underage level in Meath in recent years winning an Under 21 championship in 201. Their team is built on that Under 21 side from two years ago so they will be quite a handful indeed. I think Athlone should prevail provided Athlone tune into the task in hand for the full 60 plus minutes. That has been a challenge for Athlone this year in that they have veered from been excellent to mediocre at stages in all their games. They need to concentrate for the full game otherwise they wont win.
Milltown Ladies Excel:
While their Male counterparts had a disappointing exit on Sunday, it was a different story for Miltown Ladies footballers as they comprehensively defeated Glenamaddy/Williamstown from Galway to qualify for the All Ireland Club Intermediate final. The Milltown ladies were far too strong for their Galway counterparts dominating throughout to win by 1-12 to 0-5. In the final, they will face Cahir from Tipperary. The All Ireland final is set for Saturday 5th December with the venue to be decided.
Scór na nÓg:
The semi finals of Scór na nÓg take place next weekend with rounds in Streamstown and Delvin. The first semi final is at the Horseleap/Streamstown Community Centre on Friday 27th November while the second semi final is in Delvin Hall on Saturday 28th November. Both nights events commence at 7-30pm.
The qualifiers will participate in the County final on Sunday 6th December while the acts which do not qualify for the final will participate in a B Final in Streamstown on Saturday 5th December.
Westmeath GAA Development Lotto:
The most recent draw was held on Tuesday 17th November and the numbers drawn were 4,24,25 and 29 with no Jackpot winner so next weeks draw sees the prize move up to €3300. There were four match three winners of €50 each and they were Joe O Meara C/O Mullingar Shamrocks GAA; Bridget Molloy C/O Delvin GAA; Rosie Donnelly C/O Delvin GAA and Joe Donaher C/O Westmeath Ladies GAA
I can be contacted at [email protected] or 086 3992403
