Castledaly denied late on as O'Leary goal snatches victory for Shamrocks

A 58th minute goal from Cian O'Leary snatched victory away from Castledaly and handed the spoils to Mullingar Shamrocks at Hogan Park in Moate last Sunday evening. It was a victory which, despite the good start made to the game by Shamrocks, looked like it wasn't coming. For a long time it looked as though James Galvin's goal on the stroke of half-time would prove to be the vital score and just enough to keep Castledaly's noses in front. But, as the game entered its final stages, Mullingar managed to reel the county champions in before O'Leary struck. There was, however, some controversy right at the end when Castledaly's MJ McLoughlin was pulled down for what would have certainly been a scoreable free considering the form he was in. But referee Sean Sheridan waved play on and with that went Castledaly's last chance of salvaging a draw. Mullingar came flying out of the blocks for the start of the game. Castledaly looked sluggish and it wasn't long before they found themselves three points behind. Points from Fiachra Spellman, Conor Moore and Cian O'Leary opened up the three-point gap before Castledaly, yet to threaten, registered their first of the game courtesy of the first of MJ McLoughlin's eight-point haul. More intricate Mullingar play on 10 minutes saw Spellman re-open his side's three-point lead but, surprisingly, considering their impressive start, that was to be Shamrocks' last score of the half. Instead, Castledaly, living on scraps thus far, edged their way back into contention as Mullingar squandered numerous opportunities in front of goal. By the 28th minute Shamrocks had kicked four wides as well as a couple of balls into the 'keeper's hands. During that time Castledaly had managed to pull level through three further points from MJ McLoughlin - two frees and a nicely taken point from play after a lay off by Brendan Kelly. Castledaly would have been quite content to go in at the break at level scores considering how dominant in possession their opponents had been. So they would have been over the moon with what happened next. There looked to be no danger when Brendan Kelly's tame shot for a point dropped short around the penalty area. But sneaking in behind the Mullingar defence was full-forward James Galvin, who collected the ball, stepped to the side of 'keeper Philly Shaw and slammed the ball to the net. And still it got better for the champions as there was still enough time for MJ to tap over his fourth free of the day, his fifth overall to hand Castledaly a four-point half-time lead (1-5 to 0-4). Upon the resumption, Castledaly stretched their lead to five with another MJ free after the referee had amazingly brought the ball up nearly 25 yards, from well outside the '45 to just outside the 21-yard line. Shamrocks now hadn't scored since the 10th minute. The game was in danger of slipping away from them but they regained their shooting form on 38 when midfielder Gareth Doyle managed to squeeze the ball between the posts from a near impossible angle, way out in the left corner of the pitch. But still it took a further 11 minutes before either team would score again - a free from Mullingar substitute Darren Moore to bring the difference back down to three. MJ popped over another free on 50 minutes but two lovely points by wing-back Denis Corroon put just two between the sides with seven minutes remaining. Shamrocks had dominated the last 10 minutes of the game and were pushing hard for the win. But it seemed as though Castledaly were just doing enough to keep them at arm's length. Fiachra Spellman put just the bare minimum between the sides on 57 minutes but, almost immediately up at the other end, Russell Casey popped up to fire over an inspirational point with the outside of the right. That looked like being enough to see Castledaly out for the win. But as the game entered its final stages Cian O'Leary picked up the ball on the 21-yard line, headed straight for goal and placed the ball expertly to the net via the crossbar to put Shamrocks one point to the good. Three minutes of additional time yielded no further scores and Mullingar escaped with the narrowest of victories. Having already beaten Killucan and drawn with Garrycastle, this win now puts Shamrocks in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages. As for the champions, they now face a struggle to qualify for the knockout stages, with Maryland and Garrycastle still to play. SCORERS - Mullingar Shamrocks: Cian O'Leary (1-1), Fiachra Spellman (0-3, 1f), Denis Corroon (0-2), Gareth Doyle (0-1), Conor Moore (0-1), Brian O'Sullivan (0-1f), Darren Moore (0-1f). Castledaly: MJ McLoughlin (0-8, 7f), James Galvin (1-0), Russell Casey (0-1). MULLINGAR SHAMROCKS: Philly Shaw, David Miller (capt.), Kieran Gavin, Aaron Purcell, Micheál Curley, Donal O'Donoghue, Denis Corroon, Gareth Doyle, Anthony Clinton, Brian O'Sullivan, Cian O'Leary, Brian Melody, Fiachra Spellman, Shane Colleary, Conor Moore. SUBS: Ciaran Curley for B O'Sullivan (H-T), Darren Moore for C Moore (45 mins), Lorcan Smyth for C O'Leary (60 mins). CASTLEDALY: James Kinahan, Ciarán Henson, Enda Kelly, Liam Fitzpatrick, Tommy Warburton, Derek Heavin, Niall O'Neill, Gordon Duffy, Russell Casey, Alan Fitzgerald, MJ McLoughlin, Niall Duffy, Alan Stone, James Galvin (capt.), Brendan Kelly. SUBS: Paul Kelly for A Fitzgerald (H-T), Stephen Kavanagh for N O'Neill (42 mins), Tony Heavin for E Kelly (56 mins). REFEREE: Sean Sheridan (Tyrrellspass).