Rosemount rocked by late Bal' points in thrilling clash

A barnstorming final 10 minutes, in which they lofted over four unanswered points, enabled Ballynacargy squeeze through to the semi-final of the 2010 Jasca Sports Westmeath IFC, simultaneously breaking the collective hearts of a truly gallant Rosemount squad. Rosemount looked poised for victory when, playing against the wind, they led by three points as the winning post came into sight. Full marks, however, to Danny Sammon's Primrose and Blue charges who simply refused to countenance defeat and now find themselves pitted against North-County stalwarts Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall for a place in the final to determine the destination of the Peter Geraghty Cup. Following the trills and spills of the All-Ireland SHC final epic at Croke Park, a large crowd made their way to the excellently prepared Fr. Dalton Park, Ballymore, in its pristine setting on the shores of Loch Seudy. Unfortunately earlier sunshine had given way to squally rain as referee Niall Ward got proceedings underway on Sunday evening. Rosemount, under the management of Eamonn Gallagher, were highly impressive last time out when comprehensively overcoming Ballinagore. And they had much the better of matters for the greater part of the opening half, despite Ballynacargy opening the scoring in the third minute when Owen Burke converted a '45'. The Black and Ambers, despite having to line out without the suspended Stephen Darcy, had the ideal riposte when Donal Boland turned provider for the experienced Cathal Keane to find the net from close range. This was the ideal fillip for the wind-assisted Roses against the pre-match favourites. Michael Loran pointed a free for Ballynacargy in the 14th minute of a low-scoring first quarter, but with the lengthy kick-outs of goalie Eoin Carberry a notable feature of the opening half and undoubtedly inspiring his colleagues, we now were treated to a golden spell of Rosemount supremacy. Making light of the greasy ball they took control in most sectors of the park and with Enda, Eamon and Paddy Boland and Paddy Wade solid in defence, while Declan Mullen held the whip hand at midfield these were indeed good times for the South Westmeath squad. A brace of superb points from play, courtesy of David ('Dude') McCormack, followed by a terrific point on the run from Declan Mullen and a similar score from lively centre-forward Cyril Elliffe, bore eloquent witness to this supremacy, also building up a 1-4 to 0-2 lead against the Ballynacargy brigade. However, a seismic change was about to occur in this quarter-final in the concluding stages of the half as Danny Sammon's men reared back into contention. A lovely inter-passing movement involving Andrew Heduvan, Danny Keena, Michael Loran and Danny Scally paved the way for Dwayne Maher - who would play such an integral part at the denouement - to point from play (28th minute), having gone 14 minutes without raising a flag. In the twinkling of an eye, Ballynacargy were right back into contention when full-forward Liam Reilly made the road for midfielder Willie Murtagh to give Rosemount 'keeper Eoin Carberry no chance from close-in. To enhance this quick-fire revival, just on half-time Andrew Heduvan showed his scoring prowess when soloing upfield for a fine point and parity on the score board at the interval (1-4 each). Rosemount must certainly have pondered on the vagaries of an opening half when they held the whip hand for by far the longer period, but Eamonn Gallagher obviously laid it on the line for his charges in the dressing room as they prepared to face the breeze on the resumption. Notwithstanding this handicap, they proceeded to again seize the initiative. Barely a minute of the second half had elapsed when a Danny Fielding free punished a foul on the hard grafting Cathal Keane and when Eoin Carberry had made another fine block from Willie Murtagh, Declan Mullen landed another terrific point for the resurgent Roses. The Black and Ambers were getting bodies behind the ball to great effect, thereby closing out at source many Bal' raids, and with 11 minutes elapsed in the second half, struck again with lethal effect when midfielder Declan Keane was in the right place to finish a high centre to the net, thereby opening up another 5-point lead, as they had done in their spell of first half ascendancy. Scarcely, however, had this score been registered on the Ballymore venue's impressive electronic scoreboard than, from a '45', Eoin Burke delivered a perfectly flighted ball for attacking wing-back Declan McGuinness to cut through for the ideal Ballynacargy response. The crowd, now in full voice, were enjoying every minute of this thrilling contest of fluctuating fortunes, but things were still looking bright for Rosemount to take a big scalp here as a brace of points - per wing back Shane Tone (play) and a gem from a free near the sideline by Danny Fielding - either side of a Dwayne Maher pointed Ballynacargy free, left them 2-8 to 2-5 to the good with 10 minutes of normal time remaining. As light was steadily diminishing, despite rain having ceased, excitement was still at fever pitch, but the contest was now about to become the Dwayne Maher show as the Ballynacargy centre-forward emerged as his side's saviour. With Willie Murtagh expertly leading the charge for the Primrose and Blue, the beleaguered Roses defence were forced into the concession of frees. Fouls on the Ballynacargy No. 9 in the 50th and 55th minutes were clinically punished by the accurate boot of Maher, while the same player also scored a point from play (sandwiched between the two pointed frees), following good work by earlier goalscorer Declan McGuinness. With the contest now level and the result on a knife-edge, Rosemount forced late attacks, but were kept at bay by some desperate Ballynacargy defending and, just when it looked like a draw, listed corner-back John Keena proved the Ballynacargy hero with a late-late winning point. And so, it was the mid-county side who dramatically got through, but it was certainly cruel luck on Rosemount not to get at least a replay. SCORERS - Ballynacargy: Dwayne Maher (0-5, 2f), Willie Murtagh (1-0), Declan McGuinness (1-0), Owen Burke (0-1, '45'), Michael Loran (0-1 free), Andrew Heduvan (0-1) and John Keena (0-1). Rosemount: Cathal Keane (1-0), Declan Keane (1-0), David (Dude) McCormack (0-2), Danny Fielding (0-2, 2f), Declan Mullen (0-2), Cyril Elliffe (0-1) and Shane Tone (0-1). BALLYNACARGY: Richard Price, Aidan Scally, Kieran Sheridan, John Keena, Declan McGuinness, Andrew Heduvan, Owen Burke, Niall Eivers, Willie Murtagh, Mark Wallace, Dwayne Maher, Danny Scally, Danny Keena, Liam Reilly, Michael Loran. Subs: Mark Murphy for Loran (39); Jason Wallace for Mark Wallace (45); Sean Fagan for Reilly (49); Darragh Keena for Eivers (52). ROSEMOUNT: Eoin Carberry, Enda Boland, Eamonn Boland, Paddy Wade, Luke Kelly, Paddy Boland, Shane Tone, Declan Mullen, Declan Keane, Danny Fielding, Cyril Elliffe, Donal Boland, Cathal Keane, David Malynn and David ('Dude') McCormack. Subs: David (DD) McCormack for Malynn (40); John Keane for Fielding (59). REFEREE: Niall Ward (Garrycastle).