Plunkett's still seeking semi-final breakthrough
April 30, 2011St. Oliver Plunkett's are still awaiting their first appearance in a senior hurling final after they suffered yet another semi-final defeat last year.
The Mullingar club's 1-6 to 0-14 loss to Clonkill was their sixth semi-final defeat in the last five years when replays are included. This losing sequence has been a source of huge frustration for Plunkett's, who on their day, are capable of beating anyone in the senior championship.
"It would be a massive weight off our shoulders if we could break our semi-final duck," says county star Ciaran Curley, who posted 1-18 in last year's championship run.
"It's a psychological thing at this stage. We've beaten every team in the last three years except when it matters in the semi-final. We know we are good enough, but for some reason, the semi-final has been a stumbling block for us. We'll keep plugging away and hopefully this will be the year when we finally get the monkey off our back."
Curley, who lined out at full forward for Mullingar Shamrocks in last year's county football final and was part of Westmeath's Christy Ring Cup winning team, claims Plunkett's were severely weakened for the semi-final by the unavailability of key forwards John Dooley and Peter Collins through suspension.
"The two lads were sent off against Ringtown in the quarter-final and were huge losses against Clonkill. They were two of the leading scorers in the championship and we couldn't afford to be without them. John transferred to us from Ballyskenach in Offaly last year and was a big addition to us. His physical presence gave us an extra dimension."
Under the management of Eddie Casey, who returned to the helm for a second term, and his assistant Seanie Hynes, Plunkett's qualified for the winners' group of last year's championship by virtue of an emphatic first round victory over Brownstown at Cusack Park. On a day when the victors had 11 different scorers, Curley grabbed an eye-catching 0-11 from play as Plunkett's cruised to a 3-26 to 0-4 win.
At half-time, Plunkett's led by 0-11 to 0-3 and they assumed complete control after the restart with Peter Collins, Sean Maguire and John Dooley all notching goals.
But the Robinstown outfit were brought back down to earth with a bang when they lost their first game of the winner's section to Lough Lene Gaels. A personal haul of 2-5 from full forward Daniel Carty was the difference between the sides as the Gaels registered a 3-12 to 0-15 victory. The Collinstown club led by 2-5 to 0-9 at the break and maintained their advantage in the second half despite eight Peter Collins points from frees.
Plunkett's returned to winning ways when they demolished Castletown-Geoghegan by 3-11 to 0-11. John Dooley top-scored with 1-6, while Peter Collins chipped in with a brace of goals in what was an impressive win for Eddie Casey's side.
The Mullingar men underlined their championship credentials with a surprise but thoroughly deserved 3-10 to 2-11 victory over reigning champions Clonkill in their next game. Ciaran Curley (penalty), Peter Collins and Connaire Flanagan all found the net in the first half to give Plunkett's a slender 3-4 to 2-6 interval lead. It remained close throughout the second half, but Plunkett's showed great character to hold on and claim the scalp of the champions.
The green and whites were now on course to qualify directly for the semi-finals, but a narrow 2-12 to 3-10 defeat to Castlepollard in their final winners' group game meant they had to settle for a quarter-final against Ringtown instead. Ringtown, who had qualified from the losers' group, proved no match for Eddie Casey's charges who coasted to a 1-20 to 0-5 victory. However, the win came at a cost as both John Dooley and Peter Collins were issued with straight red cards following a second half altercation involving Ringtown's Jeffrey Nea, who also received his marching orders.
The game was never a contest with Connaire Flanagan's early goal helping Plunkett's to a 1-11 to 0-3 half-time lead. In the second half, Ciaran Curley, Sean Maguire and Micheal Curley added points to complete the rout.
Plunkett's renewed their rivalry with Clonkill in the semi-final, but sadly for them, they were unable to repeat their earlier win over the Loughegar men. Sean O'Leary's 22nd minute goal helped Plunkett's to a slender 1-4 to 0-6 interval lead, but they only managed two further points in the second half as Clonkill fought back to secure an unconvincing 0-14 to 1-6 victory. The win was greatly facilitated by a wasteful Plunkett's performance, particularly from placed balls.
Curley, who is a younger brother of fellow Plunkett's players Dermot and Micheal, welcomes Eddie Casey's decision to remain at the helm for another year.
"Eddie is into his second spell as manager and we are delighted that he is staying on. All the players have great respect for him and hopefully we'll be able to get over our semi-final hurdle in the coming year," he says.
While Plunkett's aren't the force they once were at underage level, they were among the winners last year when they collected the minor Division 2 13-a-side title. Under the tutelage of Ciaran McKenna, they powered to a 5-15 to 0-5 triumph over Lough Lene Gaels in a one-sided final at Springfield.
Fielding three senior players in Davy Gavin, Paddy Laide and Aaron Craig, who captained Westmeath to an All-Ireland 'B' championship success last summer, Plunkett's held all the aces and were already out of sight by half-time when they led by 1-11 to 0-1. The Mullingar boys had five points on the board before Thomas Doyle registered the Gaels' only point of the first half. There was no respite for the Gaels, however, as Plunkett's tagged on five more points before Colm O'Leary struck for the opening goal.
It continued to be one-way traffic in the second half with Aaron Craig helping himself to a hat-trick of goals and O'Leary bringing his tally for the afternoon to 2-3.
"We had a very good minor team last year who were probably too strong for the 13-a-side competition. They only reason they weren't in the 15-a-side championship was because they didn't have the numbers," Ciaran concludes.
St. Oliver Plunkett's lined out as follows in last year's SHC semi-final against Clonkill: Ian Egerton; Oisin Clinton, Stephen McManus, Clive Kenny; Greg Gavin, Noel Gavin, Micheal Curley; Cian O'Leary, Michael Harris; Ciaran Curley, Connaire Flanagan, Damien Kiernan; Govinda Geoghegan, Sean O'Leary, Davy Gavin. Subs used: Sean Maguire, Dermot Curley and Paddy Laide.
The Lough Lene Gaels team that captured the minor Division 2 (13-a-side) championship title was: Conor Lynch; Ciaran Glennon, Neil Harrison; Willie Dalton, Paddy Laide, Cian Brennan; Aaron Craig, Neil Chevailer; Kenny Rabbitte, Davy Gavin, Alex Collins; Colm O'Leary, Darragh Geraghty (captain). Subs used: Daire Murray, Aaron Fitzgerald, Dylan Cannon, Sean Revelle, Luke Craig. Tweet
