'We're huge underdogs against Garrycastle' - Shamrocks boss

Mullingar Shamrocks manager Ray Smyth has claimed his side will be "huge underdogs" against Garrycastle in the upcoming Westmeath SFC final. After his charges defeated local rivals St Loman's by 3-7 to 1-10 in last Sunday's semi-final replay, Smyth said: "We know we're huge underdogs against Garrycastle, the Leinster champions, but we'll give it our best shot." Garrycastle defeated Mullingar Shamrocks in the last two county finals, in 2011 after a replay, and now the teams will meet in a third successive decider. Shamrocks midfielder Donal O'Donoghue was sent off on a straight red card and will therefore be suspended for the county final - unless the club is successful with a possible appeal. O'Donoghue and Ciaran Kilmurray of St Loman's were both sent off by referee Shane Farrell midway through the first half. Commenting on the two sendings off, Smyth said: "With all due respect to St Loman's, they were trying to spoil it by pulling a dragging and that kind of stuff. To me it only looked like the two players were wrestling before the sendings off, but the referee probably felt he had to take a handle on it. I didn't feel it merited red cards, but he's the boss. If he says it's a red, we can't do anything about it." However, when questioned about the possibility of an appeal to the O'Donoghue red card, Smyth said: "Absolutely. We will have to wait and see. We'll look at the video and see what happened. But I would honestly say I don't think it merited a red card." Overall, Smyth was "delighted" with the way his side fought back after going behind early on. "No one realises how hard it is to get into a county final and this is our third in a row. I never panicked when we were six points down because I knew the fitness levels and resolve in the team," said the Killucan native. Meanwhile, St Loman's manager Kenny McKinley was clear about the turning point of the contest. "The sending off of Ciaran Kilmurray was crucial. We were going well at the time and had control of midfield. Everyone was doing their job, our system was in place and it was working very well for us." Commenting on the red cards in the 16th minute, McKinley stated: "I think the sendings off were harsh on the two players - it was handbags at six paces. The referee sort of stamped his authority on the game by picking the two lads. They sort of tackled each other, but a bit of niggle had crept into the game and it was starting to boil a little. I thought the ref did a good job and he probably felt he had to stamp it out before it escalated into something more serious." Overall, the 1995 All-Ireland minor medal winner was magnanimous in defeat, adding: "While I take my hat off to my team, Shamrocks responded better with 14 men. They started to run at us and we made a few bad mistakes in defence and never recovered. We threw the dice and made changes, but they got on top and won the individual battles. They were more economical too and took their chances better. We weren't good enough on the day and, as manager, I take the blame for that." Looking ahead to the county final between Garrycastle and Shamrocks on October 21, McKinley said: "I'd like to wish the two teams all the best in the county final. They've been the best two teams in the county for the last three years. They'll give us another good final, I think, and hopefully Donal O'Donoghue might get an exemption and be back for it, because he's not a dirty player." Scorers - Mullingar Shamrocks: C Curley 1-3 (0-3f), C Twomey and P Joyce 1-0 each, S Daly 0-2 (1f), D Corroon (f) and E Moore 0-1 each. St. Loman's: J Heslin 1-6 (1-0pen, 5f), E Price and S Flynn 0-2 each. Mullingar Shamrocks: Ronan Tyrrell; Aaron Purcell, Kieran Gavin, Micheal Curley; Paddy Joyce, Eddie Moore, David Gavin; Denis Corroon, Donal O'Donoghue; Conor Twomey, Sean Daly, Killian Daly; John Ganley, Ciaran Curley, Lorcan Smyth. Subs used: Anthony Clinton for Smyth (36), Simon Quinn for S Daly (48), Cian O'Leary for Ganley (54). St. Loman's, Mullingar: Jason Daly; Stephen Gilmore, Paddy Dowdall, Jason O'Toole; David Whelan, Gary Glennon, Paul Leonard; Ciaran Kilmurray, Willie McGovern; Kelvin Reilly, Paul Sharry, Eoin Price; Conradh Reilly, John Heslin, Conor Lynam. Subs used: David Rushe for Leonard (29), Shane Flynn for McGovern (h/t), Kieran Lynam for C Reilly (35), Jonathan Plunkett for O'Toole (46), David Windsor for C Lynam (59). Referee: Shane Farrell (Ballynacargy).