McLoughlin"s masterful freetaking steers Castledaly into semi finals

An outstanding display of freetaking by M.J. McLoughlin was the key factor in Castledaly advancing to face Tyrrellspass in the semi-final of the Shay Murtagh Ltd Westmeath senior football championship, following a narrow win over a gallant Coralstown/Kinnegad side at rain-drenched Cusack Park last Sunday afternoon. A decent crowd turned up at GAA headquarters on Sunday, but driving rain (an all-too-familiar sight in recent months) greeted the participants in the first of the a quarter-final double-header. The game consequently never reached any great heights but an unanswered six-point haul by Castledaly between the fourth and 15th minutes of the second moiety proved to be a bridge too far for the red and whites, whose promising mixture of youth and experience will have to wait another year in their search to regain the Flanagan Cup. For their part, Padraig Farrell"s charges are two steps from their Holy Grail but they will undoubtedly need to improve if they are to dethrone the men from the Tidy Town. The opening exchanges were dominated by a couple of "was he or was he not in the square before the ball?" calls for the losers, before Castledaly opened the scoring with the first of M.J. McLoughlin"s five points from frees in the sixth minute. Coralstown/Kinnegad equalised some three minutes later, Alan Giles doing well to find the target after availing of Fergal Dardis" lay-off. The young corner-forward replicated this feat with an even better score in the ninth minute, before the winners demonstrated the benefits of having reliable placekickers from both sides of the field with a lovely left-footed free from Michael Duffy to level the game. A great catch from James Galvin then set up Paul Kelly but his shot was poor. Coralstown/Kinnegad"s David Kilmartin did well to effect a great block on his opposite number 6 and former Westmeath colleague, Derek Heavin. Jamie Wilson made the most of an error by Michael Gavin to put the red and whites in front, but again M.J. McLoughlin showed great control of the greasy ball to convert another tricky free in the 17th minute. The tit-for-tat scoring continued with Alan Giles" third fine point being cancelled out by McLoughlin"s third successful free at the other end. The latter player then had another "point" ruled out for taking his shot from a free from the wrong position, but he was not to be denied in the 31st minute from a 30-metre free from an acute angle which dissected the posts. This left the yellow and greens ahead by 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval. Within two minutes of the resumption, Coralstown/Kinnegad had regained the lead, courtesy of a Jamie Wilson 35-metre free and a powerfully-struck shot from towering midfielder, Niall Kilmartin. However, the winners then went on a scoring spree which was to decide the outcome of the game. Converted frees by Michael Duffy and M.J. McLoughlin were followed by a brace of fine points from play by the hitherto-scoreless Paul Kelly. Midway through the half, Enda Kelly emerged from defence to rifle over a great point from 35 metres and an even better score ensued from M.J. McLoughlin, after three tough but fair hits on Castledaly men had failed to stop their momentum. All of a sudden, it was 0-11 to 0-6 in favour of the winners. However, Joe Giles" charges refused to throw in the towel and Stephen Kavanagh had to produce a great challenge to prevent Ronan Foley from scoring. In the 21st minute, David Kilmartin"s blistering shot for a goal went over rather than under the bar. Substitute Gordon McDonnell was then denied what appeared to be a definite free for the losers - two Coralstown/Kinnegad players concurred with this assessment and were yellow-carded for dissent - before Niall Kilmartin"s excellent 40-metre point left just a goal between the sides. That goal just would not come for the losers and substitute Enda Leonard"s injury-time point was a mere consolation score. Castledaly have quietly worked their way to a county semi-final in a year where their chances of success were considered slim. Enda Kelly and Derek Heavin defended well, while Niall Duffy worked hard in and around centrefield. M.J. McLoughlin"s freetaking was of a very high standard, while Paul Kelly also worked to great effect in the forward line. Coralstown/Kinnegad left their comeback too late but this defeat was no fault of tenacious backs, Jason Lynch and Derek Griffin. Niall Kilmartin fared well at centrefield, while Alan Giles was the pick of a disappointing forward line, which was bolstered by the introduction of Gordon McDonnell. Castledaly: James Kinahan; Enda Kelly (0-1), Niall O"Neill, Ciaran Henson; Michael Gavin, Derek Heavin, Stephen Kavanagh; Gordon Duffy, Niall Duffy; Alan Fitzgerald, M.J. McLoughlin (0-6, 5 frees), Paul Kelly (0-2); Michael Duffy (0-2, 2 frees), James Galvin (capt), Brendan Kelly. Subs: Russell Casey for G. Duffy (42 mins), Alan Kelly for M. Duffy (51), Adrian Kelly for Henson (54), Tommy Warburton for Galvin (59). Coralstown/Kinnegad: Damien Molloy; Jason Lynch, David Cole, Ronan Doyle; Stephen Bracken, David Kilmartin (capt, 0-1), Derek Griffin; Ronan Foley, Niall Kilmartin (0-2); Eamonn Fleming, Mark Gorman, David Flynn; Jamie Wilson (0-2, 1 free), Fergal Dardis, Alan Giles (0-3). Subs: Gordon McDonnell for Flynn (39 mins), Enda Leonard (0-1) for Wilson (42), Emmett McDonnell for Fleming (58), Wayne Fox for Bracken (58). Referee: Michael Mannion (Garrycastle).