St Lomans GAA Club Notes 04/10/2021:
Shay Murtagh Senior Championship:
St Lomans Mullingar 3-14 Athlone 0-13
St Lomans Mullingar travelled to Moate last Saturday evening knowing that victory over Athlone would guarantee them a place in the knockout stage of the Championship. Athlone were the dominant team in the early stages, and they got the first four scores of the game through doubles from Cillian Lynn and Stephen O’Connor respectively. John Heslin pointed to get Lomans off the mark. Both sides then traded scores with Kevin Regan on target for the Saints and Lynn on target for the Shannon-siders. Athlone could have been further in front had it not been for a superb save from goalkeeper Jason Daly who managed to turn Cillian Lynn’s goal bound shot over the bar. Two more placed balls put the Shannon-siders up by seven points to two at the twenty-minute mark.
Suddenly the Saints came to life and managed to hit 1-7 in a scintillating ten-minute spell before half time. John Heslin got it started with a free and was quickly followed by excellent points from Ronan O’Toole and Chris Gilbert. TJ Cox then hit a stunning point to leave only the minimum between the teams. Cox then scored a stunning solo goal picking the ball up just inside the Athlone half and setting off on a breathtaking run, going past several Athlone defenders in the process. When Cox eventually got within scoring range, there was only ever going to be one outcome. TJ rifled it into the roof of the net to give the Mullingar men the lead. Cox wasn’t finished there and got another point with the very next play. Lomans finished the half with two perfectly executed free’s by the immaculate Heslin to see the Saints lead by five at the break.
Declan Kelly’s charges continued where they left off at the beginning of the second half. Ronan O’Toole found Fola Ayorinde who played a superb handpass to Peter Foy who was bearing down on goal, most spectators expected him to shoot but Foy spotted John Heslin alone in the goalmouth and the latter dispatched the ball into the onion bag for a second goal. Cillian Lynn’s free kicks kept the scoreboard ticking for Athlone. Lynn hit three early second half points, but Lomans replied through that man Heslin. Lynn replied with another point to leave the deficit at six. John Heslin then hit three magnificent points to give Lomans further breathing space. The first came from a well-claimed mark, the second was a long range point from near the touchline and last but not least the third was a stunning score off his so called “weaker” left boot from an extremely tight angle. Athlone reduced the arrears with points from John Stapleton and Cillian Lynn, Lynn was once again foiled by Jason Daly who produced several excellent saves in the second half. Substitute Ken Casey opened his account to extend the lead further. Casey was involved moments later, after he was found by Ronan O’Toole, Ken laid the ball on a plate for John Heslin to grab his second goal and Lomans’ third of the afternoon to kill off any chance of an Athlone comeback. Cillian Lynn got the final point from a free to leave the full time score at 3-14 to 0-13 in favor of the Saints.
St Loman’s rose to the challenge on Saturday and there were some superb individual performances. Darragh O’Keefe was solid as a rock in the full-back line. Jack Geoghegan followed upon his impressive debut against Garrycastle with an even better performance against Athlone, Geoghegan looks a natural at this level. Sam McCartan, Kevin Regan and Fola Ayorinde at times dominated the middle of the park. TJ Cox and Ronan O’Toole caused havoc for the Athlone defence all afternoon. However, when picking a man of the match It is difficult to ignore John Heslin who ended with an impressive tally of 2-08. The Blues now face Caulry in two weeks’ time with date, venue and time to be confirmed.
Team; Jason Daly, Rory Sheahan, Oisín Hogan, Darragh O’Keefe, Kelvin Reilly, Ryan Jones, Jack Geoghegan, Sam McCartan, Kevin Regan (0.01), Chris Gilbert (0.01), Ronan O’Toole (0.01), TJ Cox (1.02), Peter Foy, John Heslin (2.08, 0.4f), Fola Ayorinde. Subs used; Ken Casey (0.01), Paul Whelehan, Conor O’Donoghue, Danny McCartan.
Clarkes Bar Junior Championship:
St Lomans Mullingar 3-15 Mullingar Shamrocks 1-11
St Lomans Juniors side completed their group stage with a convincing win over local rivals Mullingar Shamrocks. The Blues came out of the traps quickly and hit two early goals through Conan O’Hara and Cian Cleary. Both sides then traded scores with Andrew Daly and Conradh Reilly on target for the hosts and Brian Melody and Gary Corroon on target for the visitors. The Blues the hit three scores on the bounce with Conan O’Hara on target either side of a Tristan Graham point. Corroon pointed from a free to leave Lomans eleven points up at the break.
The Saints were rampant at the start of the second half and hit five points on the bounce through Cian Cleary, Conradh Reilly, Shane Flynn, Conan O’Hara and Darren Kavanagh. Gary Corroon momentarily reduced the arrears, but the Saints then hit a further three unanswered points through O’Hara, Reilly and David Morgan. Both sides then traded scores with Cian Cleary and David Morgan adding to their tallies. Mullingar Shamrocks had a purple patch in the closing stages hitting 1-6 on the bounce to add some gloss to the score line. Robbie Kenny’s charges ran out convincing ten-point winners. Lomans advance to the quarter finals and their opponents are yet to be confirmed.
Team; Stephen Gallagher, Sean Kelly, Gerry Grehan, Daire Smyth, Shane Flynn (0.01), Eoghan O’Keefe, Seanie Dinnegan, Andrew Daly (0.01), David Aughey, Adam Lynch, Conradh Reilly (0.03), Tristan Graham (1.01), Cian Cleary (1.02), Conan O’Hara (1.04), David Morgan (0.02). Subs used; Senan Russell, Darren Kavanagh (0.01), Conor Cochrane, Ethan Browne, Kealan Sleator.
Senior Ladies Championship:
St Lomans Mullingar 3-14 Corlastown Kinnegad
Well done to our Senior ladies who began their Championship campaign with a win in Kinnegad and booked a semi-final spot in the process. Lomans were on fire in the first quarter leading 2-01 to 0-2 through a point from Leona Archibold and two superb goals from Lucy McCartan. Both sides then traded scores with Bridgie Heslin on target for Lomans. Kinnegad then struck a goal to reduce the arrears. The Blues hit three unanswered points through McCartan, Ciara Blundell and Vicky Carr. Kinnegad replied with another goal to leave three points between the sides. Kinnegad then hit a quickfire 1-02 to leave them two to the good at the interval.
The Blues had it all to do in the second half but started brightly with points from Ciara Blundell and substitute Rachel McKenna. The sides then traded scores with Ciara Blundell on target for the Saints. Lomans then went on a scoring spree to close out the match. A treble from Bridgie Heslin, a double for Lucy McCartan and a superb Vicky Carr goal put the match beyond doubt. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Emma Keena who suffered a nasty injury during the match.
Team; Fiona Keating, Emma Keena, Muireann Scally, Ella Daly, Megan Ennis, Keelie Mulderry, Ellen Kilmurray, Vicky Carr (1.01), Evie Daly, Julie McLaughlin, Leona Archibold (0.01), Niamh McGinley, Bridgie Heslin (0.04), Lucy McCartan (2.03), Ciara Blundell (0.04). Subs used; Rachel McKenna (0.01), Paige Matthews, Shauna Traynor, Meabh O’Hara, Lara McCartan.
Under 17 Boys Championship Final:
St Lomans Mullingar 0-08 Moate All Whites 1-12
Hard luck to our under 17s who were defeated by Moate All Whites in the Championship final. In truth Moate were worthy winners, our lads just never got going on the day. Nevertheless, they have been terrific all year and it is a great achievement to reach a county final. Thanks to all the players for their efforts. Finally, thanks to the management team of Robbie Kenny, Johnny Plunkett, Paul Leonard and Alan Bracken for their time and effort they’ve devoted to this group of players.
Team; Callum Dolan, Nathan Sleator, Eoghan Kenny, Riley Sheahan, Byron Graham (0.01), Ciaran Smyth (0.01), Tom Dorr, Nedas Bielicas, Seanie Bracken (0.01), Ciaran Egerton (0.04), Tadhg Kenny, Luke Heduvan, Mark Tunney, Thomas Meehan, Ross Clinton. Rest of Panel; Daniel McCann (0.01), Oisin O’Hara, David Geoghegan, Adam Brady, Lucas Lozano, Cillian Plunkett, Ross Killalea, Harry Mannering, Ben McGrath, Shane Mulderry, Eoin Valentine.
Under 14 Girls Championship Final:
St Lomans Mullingar 3-09 Coralstown Kinnegad 4-07 AET
Hard Luck to our girls who put in a tremendous effort but came up just short on the night. Our girls put in huge effort collectively battling hard for eighty minutes of football but unfortunately ended up on the wrong side of a narrow margin. Thanks to all the girls for their hard work throughout the year. Finally, thanks to the management team of Stephanie Kilmurray, Niall Scally, Ted Cronin and Nigel Graham for their time and effort they’ve devoted to this group of players.
Club Lotto:
Draw Date: Thursday 30th September
This week’s jackpot: €9700
Numbers drawn: 7, 9, 21, 25
Next Week’s Jackpot: €9800
No Jackpot Winner
Next Week’s Draw Date: Thursday 7th October
Remember it could be you!
