Galligan goal comes too late

Despite a spirited effort, Athlone IT lacked the firepower and physical strength to really trouble DIT at Grangegorman on Wednesday of last week, thereby bowing out of this year"s Sigerson Cup. Ultimately, it was a 34th minute goal by Kevin McManamon which broke AIT"s resistance. It put the Dubliners 1-9 to 0-4 ahead, and one sensed the gradient facing AIT was just too steep at that stage. A look at the DIT line-up, which featured a number of players with senior inter-county experience, suggested that this was going to be a difficult assignment for Athlone. And the presence of a sponsored jeep sporting the name Mark Vaughan on the back and front made it obvious that Dublin"s blonde attacker was going to be part of the DIT team on the day. Athlone IT"s task was made harder by the fact that injuries prevented Gary Quinn (Athlone GAA), Ray Galligan and Micheál Lundy from starting, although the latter two players were introduced as subs. There were five Westmeath players on the AIT team, including Maryland duo David and James Reynolds. Conditions were dry but chilly at the Dublin city venue for this encounter. The game was just seconds old when an incisive run by Paul Brogan - brother of Dublin senior stars Alan and Bernard - led to a free-in, which was pointed by Mark Vaughan. DIT"s other corner-forward, Kevin McManamon then added a point after AIT wing-back James McKeague (Roscommon) lost possession. Another pointed free by Vaughan and a fine score by wing-forward Martin Reilly saw DIT go 0-4 to 0-0 ahead inside the opening ten minutes. Athlone IT got off the mark in the 14th minute, Westmeath"s Brian Smyth pointing a free after a foul on Alan Lynam (Erin Rovers, Offaly). Doon"s Trevor Phelan then gave Athlone a further lift with a superb point from the left. Tadhg Condon"s side quickly replied with a point by Paul Brogan, following a great run by McManamon. The lively Alan Lynam edged AIT closer with a brilliant point in the 22nd minute, after Smyth picked him out with a free. But Paul Brogan"s ball-carrying ability was causing serious problems at the other end and he drew another foul, which led to a 23rd minute point from a Vaughan free. A pass from Martin Reilly then set up DIT midfielder John Coughlan (whose grandparents, the late Patsy and Lena Shortall, hail from just outside Moate) for a fine point left-footed point. With big DIT full-forward Barry Moran (Mayo) moving out to midfield, AIT were finding it difficult to win primary possession around centrefield. And a flowing DIT move which started in defence eventually resulted in a point for the impressive Paul Brogan. Brian Smyth was unlucky to see a couple of long-range frees go narrowly wide, and the free-taking ability of Ray Galligan was undoubtedly missed. Still, AIT centre-back David Reilly - who was sent off on a yellow card when playing for Galway against Westmeath the previous Sunday - gave his side a lift just before half-time. Reilly took the ball on the overlap after good work from Lynam, Alan Douglas and Phelan, before firing just over the bar, though a goal was on his mind. That left DIT leading by 0-8 to 0-4 at half-time after a first half in which the visitors had six wides as opposed to two for their opponents. Within three minutes of the restart, Martin Reilly increased DIT"s lead after Athlone had given away the ball cheaply. Then came that Kevin McManamon goal. Vaughan sent the ball towards the AIT goals and "keeper Donal Moore was unable to deal with it effectively. The ball broke to McManamon who turned and rifled a shot to the net. Brian Smyth got AIT"s first score off the second half from a free (37th minute), but a lot more was needed if Edward Burns" charges were to mount a serious comeback. A splendid point by the physically imposing Paul Flynn restored DIT"s eight-point lead (1-10 to 0-5). Trevor Phelan had to go off with a blood injury, and he was temporarily replaced by John Stapleton, who was introduced as a permanent sub some minutes later. AIT really needed a goal to ignite their challenge. They had a half chance when a point attempt came back off the upright, but Alan Lynam just couldn"t get to the rebound quickly enough. AIT sub Ray Galligan (Cavan) ambitiously went for goal from a 20-metre free, but his shot was easily blocked. However, the DIT defence failed to clear and when Gerard Dennigan sent the ball back into the goalmouth, Galligan deftly flicked the ball to the net for a brilliantly-taken goal. AIT manager Edward Burns admitted afterwards that the goal came too late. 'The goal early in the second half opened up a gap for DIT. We came back into it again, but our goal came too late for us.' 'The six wides in the first half were costly, we missed a few frees. We were missing (Ray) Galligan, (Micheál) Lundy and (James) Durkan was only 50:50, we hadn"t the scoring finish that they had. Ray Galligan is an exceptional free-taker and he was a big loss to us. 'We won a lot of the breaking ball but they had an advantage in terms of aerial power. They had a lot of big names on the day. But you couldn"t fault Athlone, because their passion was good, their hunger was good. The backs were excellent, the full-back line was particularly good, Gearoid (Hanrahan), Fintan (Reilly) and Sean McManamon. David Reilly was good going forward and Kevin Smyth played well, but I suppose they were physically bigger around the middle third,' added Burns. Galligan"s goal proved AIT"s last score, and DIT subs Padraig McNeill (Kildare) and Mark Vaughan completed the scoring. That late point proved Vaughan"s only score from play and AIT corner-back Sean McManamon (Mayo) certainly did a fine marking job on the Dublin man. SCORERS - DIT: K McManamon 1-1; M Vaughan 0-4 (3f); P Brogan, M Reilly 0-2 each; J Coughlan, P Flynn, B Flanagan, P McNeill 0-1 each. Athlone IT: R Galligan 1-0; B Smyth 0-2 (2f); A Lynam, T Phelan, D Reilly 0-1 each. DIT: Eoin Somerville; Michael Burke, Eoin Naughton, Darragh Walsh; Niall O"Shea, Ross Glavin, Brian Flanagan; John Coughlan, Paul Flynn; Martin Reilly, Donnacha Reilly, Paul Brogan; Kevin McManamon, Barry Moran, Mark Vaughan. Subs: Gerry Gallagher for Coughlan (50 mins); Kevin McLoughlin for O"Shea (52); Enda Gaffney for Brogan (52); Padraig O"Neill for D Reilly (54); Daniel Graham for Flanagan (56). ATHLONE IT: Donal Moore; Sean McManamon, Fintan Reilly, Gearoid Hanrahan; Kevin Smyth, David Reilly, James McKeague; Gerard Dennigan, David Reynolds; James Durkan, Trevor Phelan, James Reynolds; Brian Smyth, Alan Lynam, Alan Douglas. Subs: Rory O"Connor for Durkan (36 mins); Ray Galligan for B Smyth (45); Micheál Lundy for Douglas (47); John Stapleton for K Smyth (54). REFEREE: Paul Faughnan (Dublin).