Milltown triumph over Rosemount to take title

Milltown 4-15, Rosemount 1-13

It’s not the silverware that the players and management of Milltown would have prioritised when they first met in advance of the 2025 season, but last year’s beaten IFC finalists served fair notice that they are poised and ready to make a serious bid to go one step further this year with a comprehensive win over Rosemount in Tullamore on Sunday.

Warm weather, summer ground and a maximum-dimensions pitch certainly played into the hands of a more youthful and energetic Milltown side as opposed to a Rosemount group where the loss of a handful of players from last year’s side due to travelling and other commitments saw them field a more experienced, mature group – but even allowing for that difference in profile, Mickey Harkin’s side looked a class apart here, despite the absence of county man Conor Dillon, and Ben McGauran.

Luke Gunning kicked his first two points in the opening minutes to get Milltown up and running as they seized the opportunity to use the full width of the field and move the ball with speed.

An errant pass across midfield was one of a handful of early errors from the Roses and while it looked inconsequential as the ball bounced over the sideline, two quick passes later Conor Lynn had sprinted past the last line of cover and he was setting up Paddy Tiernan for a low one-on-one finish.

Rosemount responded well with a fine kick from Pádraig Geoghegan and another close-range Matthew Cox score that could just as easily have gone two feet under the crossbar instead of over it, with Cathal Geoghegan wandering forward to finish off a point after Eamon Boland hit the post.

Milltown however had a cut to them that Rosemount couldn’t match, and they showed this approaching the 20 minute mark. A clever flick from Paddy Somers put Nathan Creagh Dillon through and their ‘total football’ approach was summed up when the rampaging wing back exchanged passed with his full-back colleague Bernard Kiernan before slipping a cool finish inside the near post.

Rosemount weren’t out of the running when they came out after half-time trailing by 2-9 to 0-8, but they were met with another statement of intent as Somers sprung up to claim the throw in and 20 seconds later Matthew Gunning slalomed through on goal from 55 metres out, eventually clipping a point just as it looked like another green flag might be on offer.

They didn’t have long to wait for more majors. In a closer game, Eamon O’Connor’s decision to award a penalty against Cathal Geoghegan, and a yellow card for good measure, for what seemed like a genuine tackle on Luke Gunning might have drawn some ire from Karl Dermody and the Rosemount management.

Daire Hynes slotted home the penalty with precision but there was no controversy about the next scoring attack, when a sublime 40-metre pass from Conor Gibney found Conor Lynn, and the full forward did what good full-forwards do from ten metres out, making the twine dance.

Another Luke Gunning point made it 4-12 to 0-10 by the midway point of the second half, and any sting that would have been felt by Rosemount over the dubious penalty call was assuaged by the knowledge that it wasn’t a game-changer.

There were moments of encouragement for the vanquished men in the final quarter. David Loddick showed excellent footwork and composure to finish off a goal from close range, Boidu Sayeh hoisted over two fine frees including one two-pointer – albeit it looked like another refereeing error as the

former county man was clearly fouled inside the arc to give rise to the chance – and they did control a lot of possession in the closing minutes as they sought to narrow the gap.

In between however, Milltown’s final score from Henry Duncan was yet another well-crafted, elegant score. A fitting addendum to an impressive showing, even if it was just a dress rehearsal for the bigger performances that are booked in for the Summer and Autumn.

Scorers for Milltown: L Gunning 0-5, D Hynes 1-4 (1-0 pen, 0-4f), C Lynn 1-1, P Tiernan 1-0, N Creagh Dillon 1-0, M Gunning 0-2, D Murtagh 0-1, P Somers 0-1f, H Duncan 0-1.

Scorers for Rosemount: M Cox 0-4, D Mullen 0-3f, D Loddick 1-0, B Sayeh 0-3 (1tpf, 0-1f), P Geoghegan 0-2, C Geoghegan 0-1.

Milltown: Damien Byrne; Peter Ballesty, Bernard Kiernan, Diarmuid Maguire; Nathan Creagh Dillon, Dylan Murtagh, Matthew Gunning; Conor Gibney, Jack Murtagh; Paddy Kiernan, Daire Hynes, Paddy Somers; Conor Lynn, Henry Duncan, Luke Gunning. Sub: Seán Somers for Creagh Dillon (50).

Rosemount: Peter Eliffe; Cathal Byrne, Cathal Geoghegan, Luke Kelly; Andy Geoghegan, Boidu Sayeh, Ciarán Maxwell; Pádraig Geoghegan, Declan Mullen; Eoin Geoghegan, Lorcan Daly, Jason McHugh Dolan; David Tone, Eamon Boland, Matthew Cox. Subs: David Loddick for Kelly (half-time), Éanna Maxwell for McHugh Dolan (40), Colin Boland for C Maxwell (48), Michael Killian for Cox (52), Greg Keaveney for P Geoghegan (60).

Referee: Eamon O’Connor (Offaly)