Tubberclair triumph in close battle as Slevin hits late winner

Shandonagh denied as Tubberclair return to senior ranks

Tubberclair 0-17, Shandonagh 0-15

Perhaps this Tubberclair victory was written in the stars. It came a year to the day after the passing of legendary club figure Sonny Farrell, and 40 years after Tubberclair’s sole senior championship success in 1985.

Whatever about the omens, last Saturday’s Westmeath intermediate football final was an extremely close battle that could have easily swung Shandonagh’s way. At the end of an enthralling second half, Tubberclair’s last-gasp winner – a two-pointer from defender Taylor Slevin – was a fitting score to win any county final.

Slevin’s orange flag came as the Tubberclair camp pleaded for a free amid strong claims of a ‘three up’ breach and indeed there was a breach by Shandonagh. In any case play continued and Slevin’s superbly struck kick, showing the fearlessness of youth, was a far better way to decide the outcome than a tap over free for a technical infringement.

Three years ago, Shandonagh defeated Tubberclair in the intermediate final in a replay, after the sides had played out a thrilling draw. On this occasion, it was Tubberclair who just about claimed the Peter Geraghty Cup in another tight battle.

It’s Tubberclair’s first intermediate title 2009 and they have lost three finals since then (2015, 2016 and 2022) in addition to some near misses in quarter-finals and semi-finals. Therefore, nobody could begrudge Tubberclair their day in the sun and the men from Glasson and surrounding areas now look forward to competing at senior level next year.

Shandonagh made a huge effort in this final and their ability to kick two-pointers – they raised four orange flags courtesy of four different players - almost won the day. Somewhat ironically, however, it was Tubberclair who came up trumps with two-pointers in the nail-biting finish. First, Tom Bourke put Tubberclair ahead with a sumptuous kick worth two points (58th minute) and after Tom Molloy blasted over an equaliser, the aforementioned Slevin had the last word.

Considering the difficult weather conditions - a swirling breeze was compounded by a heavy shower early on - the two sides served up an intriguing battle. The conditions made slick football difficult and there were plenty of mistakes by both sides, but it was an entertaining contest which really came to life in the closing stages. And thankfully, there were none of the unruly scenes that marred the two semi-finals of this championship.

Both teams had one change to their published line-ups. Sean Claffey had recovered from injury to start at midfield for Tubberclair in place of the listed Dáire O’Connor. Aaron Craig – who played in the senior ‘B’ hurling final replay the previous Tuesday night – did not start for Shandonagh with Tom Molloy coming in.

The heavens opened in the first few minutes and the players had to contend with rain lashing down as well as the strong breeze. Shandonagh's Daire Conway (who attended the wedding of his sister just hours earlier) opened the scoring (fourth minute) with Matthew Whittaker then replying for Tubberclair.

With Gavin Delaney prominent at midfield, aided by Claffey, Tubberclair were winning plenty of possession but scores into the breeze were proving elusive. Eoghan McCabe showed the way with a splendid point from an acute angle on the right (tenth minute), before Luke Tynan put Shandonagh in front with a two-pointer.

Tubberclair corner-forward Finn Duffy did well to clip over a point after Whittaker's burst of pace created the opening (18th minute). Whittaker soon forced a '45' which was superbly pointed by Taylor Slevin, making it 0-4 to 0-3. Considering they were playing against the strong breeze, the men in green and gold had to be content with this state of affairs.

Yet Ryan Sheridan's charges gradually gained the upper hand in the battle for possession from kickouts and a string of scores followed. After Brian Kavanagh levelled matters from a free, Ryan Donnelly's two-pointer was followed by singles from Kevin Boyle and the industrious Conor McCrossan, who foraged deep and carried a lot of ball for Shandonagh.

Tubberclair needed a boost before the break and Whittaker provided it with a stoppage-time point, after Delaney and Slevin combined to win the ball back. Shandonagh still led 0-8 to 0-5 at half-time.

The team jointly managed by Daniel Sammon and Keith Higgins wiped out the arrears within three minutes of the restart. Fred Kelleher exploited a Shandonagh turnover for a single and the team captain quickly followed that up with a classy two-pointer.

Looking to respond quickly, Shandonagh carved open the Tubberclair defence but Gareth Carr's shot off the ground went over rather than under the bar in what was a let-off for the eventual winners. Duffy levelled matters from a free and after Tubberclair then failed to turn a promising position into a score, Claffey won possession from a kickout, leading to Whittaker's third point.

Kealan Connell, more influential for Tubberclair at full-forward in the second half, drew a foul after making a fine fetch, paving the way for Duffy to double the lead. Shandonagh wiped out the deficit when Danny Scahill raised an orange flag from a long range free.

As the tit for tat exchanges continued, Connell underlined his increased threat with a point, only for Adam Treanor to strike back with a huge two-pointer into the teeth of the wind (50th minute). The momentum was now with the Kilpatrick side and Carr put them 0-14 to 0-12 ahead when finishing off a well worked move.

With Tubberclair in danger of allowing the title to slip away, two 19-year-olds stepped forward to ensure this wouldn't happen. Firstly, Tom Bourke took on the Shandonagh defence and fisted over a point and, moments later, the same player hit an exquisite two-pointer off the outside his right boot.

The sky blue outfit was far from done yet, however, and Tom Molloy blasted over a 59th-minute point to make it 0-15 apiece. One wondered if a replay would be required, just like in 2022.

In a dramatic finale, Shandonagh created a goal chance but defender Maitiú Scully - so often a valuable source of scores - was unable to get the contact desired and the ball was blocked out for a fruitless '45'.

Kevin Fagan's resulting kickout was radar-like, finding McCabe in a pocket of space and Slevin did the rest.

Afterwards, amid scenes of unbridled joy and relief involving players and supporters alike, Tubberclair captain Fred Kelleher was presented with the Peter Geraghty Cup by Westmeath GAA chairman Frank Mescall.

What’s next: Tubberclair will play Kilkenny senior champions Mullinavat (who won their county final back in early May) next Sunday in the Leinster intermediate club championship. The game is listed for The Downs next Sunday at 1.30pm. For their part, Shandonagh will again be considered among the leading contenders for the Westmeath intermediate crown next year.

Scorers – Tubberclair: M Whittaker, F Kelleher (1tp), T Bourke (1tp), T Slevin (1tp, 1 ‘45’) and F Duffy (2 frees) 0-3 each; E McCabe and K Connell 0-1 each. Shandonagh: L Tynan (tp), R Donnelly (tp), G Carr, A Treanor (tp) and D Scahill (tpf) 0-2 each; D Conway, C McCrossan, K Boyle, T Molloy and B Kavanagh (f) 0-1 each.

Tubberclair – Kevin Fagan; Stephen McGonagle, Cathal Tighe, Taylor Slevin; James Madden, Tom Kelleher, Matthew Whittaker; Sean Claffey, Gavin Delaney; Eoghan McCabe, Fred Kelleher (captain), Tom Bourke; Finn Duffy, Kealan Connell, Paul Keegan. Subs: Liam Staunton for McGonagle (temp.); Oisín O’Meara for Duffy (50 mins); Dáire O’Connor for Keegan (53).

Shandonagh – Cian Molloy; Maitiú Scully, Ben Treanor, Brendan Killian; Gareth Carr, Danny Scahill (captain), Daire Conway; Adam Treanor, Caelum Faughnan; Tom Molloy, Conor McCrossan, Luke Tynan; Ryan Donnelly, Brian Kavanagh, Kevin Boyle. Subs: Jake Costello for McCrossan (temp.); Aaron Craig for Tynan (40 mins); Darren Bitu for Conway (48); Mickey Boyle for Donnelly (53); Cormac Gordon for Faughnan (57); John Fry for B Treanor (inj., 60).

Referee - Barry Pierce (St Mary's, Rochfortbridge).