Beyo’s late strike edges fiery encounter for Mullingar

CCFL Westmeath Cup final: Mullingar Town 2, Ballinahown FC 1

John Dingle reports

There was a fiery conclusion to the CCFL Westmeath Cup Final at DPD Park in Athlone when the red card was produced on three occasions in stoppage time last Sunday morning.

Mullingar Town looked to be coasting to victory when scoring a second goal late on but Ballinahown reduced the deficit to the bare minimum moments later.

There was more drama to come with three sendings-off in 10 minutes of stoppage time as Ballinahown finished with just nine men and Mullingar with ten.

The outcome might have been different had the woodwork not denied Ballinahown in the first action of the final. Just two minutes had been played, when the Village team were awarded a free kick on the left.

David Harrington took aim and was unlucky to see his strike crash off the post. Mullingar survived this early scare and might have taken the lead from their first chance after 14 minutes. Enda Morris set up Ryan Carberry but the former Willow Park and St Peter’s player saw his shot blocked by Barry Rohan.

Sean Reid then fired wide for Mullingar while Ballinahown replied through Craig O’Grady whose strike was blocked by David Dyer.

Much of the game resembled a pre-season friendly as both teams struggled to take control. Mullingar dominated much of the second half but Ballinahown slightly shaded the exchanges up to the time the deadlock was eventually broken. Rohan again came to the rescue to save a shot from Jamie Loran while O’Grady was further denied at the other end.

Ballinahown earned the first corner kick of the final after 41 minutes but found themselves behind a minute later. The boys in Blue were punished at the back as Reid fired past the exposed keeper from the right edge of the six-yard box.

It was a bad time to concede and left Blues boss Noel Harris with a lot to think about as he planned his tactics for the second half. Mullingar had something to build upon.

As it turned out, the second half proved to be a total anti-climax with Mullingar not getting out of second gear against a Ballinahown outfit that failed to sparkle.

The Mullingar defence was hardly troubled but the eventual winners made hard work of completing the task. When play resumed, Carberry had a header saved while four corners up to the hour mark kept Mullingar in control.

Daragh Kiernan saw his shot pushed behind by Rohan with another corner soon following. Reid was then off target and Dan Beyo saw his shot blocked by the keeper. Mullingar were well on top but could not put the game to bed.

They were out of luck after 77 minutes when Reid thought he had scored after his shot hit the post and then rolled along the goal line. Fortunately for Ballinahown the shot stayed the right side of the line with Rohan then gratefully clutching the ball.

While there was always the chance that Mullingar might cough up an equaliser, Ballinahown generally failed to trouble the Town defence. A corner kick after 83 minutes was one of the few times they saw any goalmouth action after the break.

However, all that changed during closing stages which saw two goals being scored in as many minutes. The victory looked secure when Beyo struck home a right wing cross with three minutes remaining.

Ballinahown though somehow managed to at last post a response and score a minute after going two down, through substitute Bryan Rohan with a shot past the keeper’s left from the edge of the penalty box.

The game soon headed into time added on with no indication that any further action was in store. A Mullingar corner looked to have confirmed the Town’s superiority.

Ballinahown’s already bleak prospects further diminished when substitute Lekan Adams became the first player to see red in the fourth additional minute. Mullingar went in search of a third goal and Beyo was denied by the keeper at the expense of a corner.

The task became almost impossible for Ballinahown with a further red card being produced, this time for Nathan Poland who took down Beyo on the edge of the box. The Mullingar number nine was also sent off in the aftermath of Poland’s dismissal.

Reid drilled the free kick off the upright with the final whistle soon sounding after nearly 10 additional minutes had been played. It got the new campaign off to a winning start for Mullingar after the heartache of losing the league title last season.

Scorers – Mullingar Town 2 (S Reid 41, D Beyo 87), Ballinahown 1 (B Rohan 88).

Mullingar Town: Adrian Rapacki, David Dyer, David Mimnagh, Jamie Loran, Jason Charles (capt.), Sean Reid, Darren Keena, Enda Morris, Dan Beyo, Ryan Carberry, Darragh Kiernan. Subs: Shane O’Keeffe for Carberry (66); Frank Kavanagh for Loran (84).

Ballinahown FC: Barry Rohan, Sean Cloherty, Richard Harris, Nathan Poland, Eoin O’Reilly, Neil Scally, Stephen Corrigan, Donagh Prendergast, Luke Dully, David Harrington, Craig O’Grady. Subs: Lekan Adams for O’Grady (56 mins); David Jelistratous for Cloherty (66); Bryan Rohan for Prendergast (67); Mark Langtry for Corrigan (87).

Ref: Ultan Beaumont (Athlone)