High drama as Tubberclair and Shandonagh must meet again

Writech Westmeath Intermediate Football Championship final: Shandonagh 1-11 Tubberclair 0-14

Tubberclair fought back from nine points down to eventually salvage a draw with Shandonagh in an incredibly dramatic Westmeath intermediate football final at TEG Cusack Park yesterday (Saturday).

Eoghan McCabe kicked the equaliser for Tubberclair from a free with the last kick of the game, the point coming in the seventh minute of added time.

Ironically, McCabe had endured a frustrating day with his shooting up to then, hitting a number of wides from frees and open play. But the young midfielder showed admirable courage to take on the responsibility to kick the pressure free from about 40 metres out.

It looked like Shandonagh substitute Mickey Boyle had kicked the winning point when he gave his side a 1-11 to 0-13 lead following a counter-attack in the frenetic closing stages. It was one of only two Shandonagh scores in the second half.

Shandonagh led 1-9 to 0-3 by the 27th minute and, making far less errors than their opponents, it looked like Kevin Hickey's charges were cruising to victory.

Gareth Carr (scorer of two points from wing-back), Brian Kavanagh (who finished with 0-4) and the creative Tom Molloy were to the fore for Shandonagh and it appeared that the final was going to be a one-sided affair.

The Shandonagh goal came via a Ryan Norris mark, with his attempt for a point misjudged by Tubberclair goalie Kevin Fagan. It was a very soft goal for Tubberclair to concede and, remarakbly, it was the first they conceded in this year's championship.

A young Tubberclair outfit was possibly affected by nerves on the big day, with their shooting lacking composure and accuracy. They kicked a total of 14 wides (seven in each half), in addition to squandering some other promising opportunities.

But having fallen nine points adrift, Tubberclair came roaring back and raised eight white flags on the trot either side of half-time.

Several Tubberclair players upped their performance levels in the second half, with Fred Kelleher and Matthew Whittaker finding their groove in attack, while corner-backs Stephen McGonagle and Aaron Brady impressed throughout.

The impressive Kavanagh (whose involvement ended prematurely due to injury) scored Shandonagh's first point of the second period (51st minute). Robbie Curley eventually brought Tubberclair level in the last minute of regulation time, but there was still plenty of drama to come.

In a finish of spine-tingling excitement, Boyle's point left Shandonagh with one hand on the Peter Geraghty Cup. But a foul on McCabe - which saw Norris receive a black card - gave Tubberclair one last chance. And McCabe held his nerve to set up a replay, with Tubberclair definitely the happier side at the final whistle.

The replay is scheduled to be played next Sunday.

Scorers - Shandonagh: R Norris 1-1 (1-1 marks); B Kavanagh 0-4 (1 '45'); G Carr 0-2; B Killian, T Molloy, C McCrossan and M Boyle 0-1 each. Tubberclair: E McCabe 0-5 (5f); F Kelleher 0-3; M Whittaker 0-2; R Curley 0-2 (1m); T Kelleher and O O'Meara 0-1 each.

Tubberclair: Kevin Fagan; Stephen McGonagle, Jason McHugh, Aaron Brady; James Madden, Cathal Tighe, Oisin Donohue; Eoghan McCabe, Sean Claffey; Fred Kelleher, Matthew Whittaker, Tom Kelleher; Robbie Curley, Paul Garvey, Rory Delaney. Subs used: Graham Whittaker for Tighe (temp. sub); Oisín O'Meara for Delaney (43 mins); Sean McGrane for Donohue (52); Charlie Kennedy for T Kelleher (61).

Shandonagh: Conor Craig; Ben Treanor, Daire Conway, Jenson Nagle; Gareth Carr, Daniel Scahill, Brendan Killian; Adam Cronin, Aaron Craig; Alan Hickey, Tom Molloy, Conor McCrossan; Ryan Norris, Brian Kavanagh, Kevin Boyle. Subs used: Adam Treanor for Cronin (46 mins); Cormac Coyne for Killian; Mickey Boyle for Kavanagh (inj., 53); Maitiu Scully for McCrossan (56).

Referee: Enda Kelly (Castledaly).