McCabe’s late score forces replay in intermediate final

Writech IFC final: Shandonagh 1-11, Tubberclair 0-14

Eoghan McCabe emerged as a somewhat improbable hero for Tubberclair as his last-gasp point denied Shandonagh victory and set up a replay, in a thrilling Westmeath intermediate football final at TEG Cusack Park last Saturday.

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. It capped off a spirited comeback which saw Tubberclair battle back from a deficit of nine points at one stage, as Shandonagh were left wondering how they let victory slip from their grasp.

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 towards the end of the first half 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 influential for Shandonagh and it appeared that the final was going to be a one-sided affair.

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, Martin McCabe’s men came roaring back into contention and raised eight white flags on the trot either side of half-time.

There was a sizeable crowd in attendance, as could be gleaned from the difficulties many patrons had in parking their cars, albeit weekend shopping was also a factor in this regard. Amid pleasant October sunshine, Shandonagh (intermediate champions in 2018) had the aid of the slight breeze in the first half.

After two early Tubberclair wides, Shandonagh’s Brian Kavanagh opened the scoring with a well struck ’45’. Then Kevin Boyle’s lob towards an unguarded net was off target after a kickout from Tubberclair goalie Kevin Fagan went astray. Tubberclair seemed reluctant to go long with their restarts and kickouts not reaching their intended targets was a significant problem in the first half.

Ryan Norris scored Shandonagh’s second point from a mark, but Tubberclair drew level (0-2 each) by the 12th minute, courtesy of scores from Robbie Curley (mark) and McCabe (free). Tubberclair were seeking Curley with long balls at almost every opportunity but with Shandonagh dropping no. 10 Ben Treanor back to a defensive role, such efforts generally didn’t yield the desired effect.

Gareth Carr was excellent in the first half and he put Shandonagh back in front, with points from Tom Molloy and Brendan Killian adding to their lead. Tubberclair’s bad luck with shooting was shown by Paul Garvey’s high shot going wide via the top of an upright. On 19 minutes, McCabe converted a free from the right for a badly needed point.

An astute pass by Molloy (who was finding pockets of space) was matched by Carr’s superb finish for one of the best scores of the contest. The impressive Kavanagh added to Shandonagh’s lead after being fed by hard-working midfielder Aaron Craig.

Worse was to follow for Tubberclair in the 24th minute. Ryan Norris attempted to score a point from a mark but his kick was misjudged by the Tubberclair netminder and ended up in the net. It was a very soft goal and, remarkably, the first for Tubberclair to concede in this year’s championship.

Tubberclair now had had a major mountain to climb and the gradient became steeper when Conor McCrossan and Kavanagh (at the end of a flowing move) added points, leaving Shandonagh 1-9 to 0-3 ahead (27th minute).

The Glasson side needed to respond before the break. Matthew Whittaker was generally well curbed in the first half by Shandonagh defender Daniel Scahill, but a blistering run by the Tubberclair attacker earned a free-in which McCabe pointed. Fred Kelleher then lifted his team, making a huge fetch from the resulting kickout and then finishing off the move with a 30th-minute point, Tubberclair’s first from open play.

In added time, Molloy made an ambitious goal attempt but Kevin Fagan did well to deflect the ball out for a fruitless ’45’, leaving Shandonagh 1-9 to 0-5 ahead at half-time.

It was obvious that Tubberclair required a good start to the second half, and Tom Kelleher showed the way with a huge point within barely 40 seconds. A classy score from Whittaker reduced the deficit further but Tubberclair also hit three wides early in the second half, with questionable shot selection still an issue.

Undeterred, a resolute Tubberclair outfit continued to apply pressure, with points from Whittaker and McCabe (free) leaving just that soft Shandonagh goal dividing the teams.

Kevin Boyle shot wide at the end of Shandonagh’s first attack of note in the second half. With tension now mounting, Tubberclair points from substitute Oisín O’Meara (a sweet left-footed effort) and Fred Kelleher left the Kilpatrick men hanging on by the minimum.

Kavanagh (whose involvement ended prematurely due to injury) scored Shandonagh’s first point of the second half (51st minute). McCabe eased pressure with a great catch in his own goalmouth, before Tom Kelleher set up his brother Fred for another point.

Despite the best efforts of the defiant Shandonagh defender Daire Conway, Robbie Curley eventually brought Tubberclair level in the last minute of regulation time, but there was still plenty of drama to come.

Whittaker spurned a chance for a potential Tubberclair winner, with McCabe free for a pass. And 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.

McCabe shook off the effects of the challenge and 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 at the same venue next Sunday (throw-in 3pm).

Scorers – Shandonagh: R Norris 1-1m; 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 0-5f; F Kelleher 0-3; M Whittaker and R Curley (1m) 0-2 each; 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); 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); Cormac Coyne for Killian; Mickey Boyle for Kavanagh (inj., 53); Maitiú Scully for McCrossan (56).

Referee: Enda Kelly (Castledaly).