Moate march on as goal-den touch sinks Athlone

Westmeath SFC quarter-final: Moate All Whites 4-11 Athlone 2-14

Moate All Whites are preparing to contest their first Westmeath SFC semi-final since 1997 after edging out Athlone in an enthralling quarter-final clash at TEG Cusack Park on Saturday, September 12.

Moate proved far more efficient when it came to taking their chances and they deserved their victory on that basis.

The All Whites will now meet The Downs in the last four and while Val Daly’s charges will be clear outsiders, they will surely relish a chance to take on the defending champions. In many respects, Moate are now in bonus territory.

Tobby Conteh came up trumps for Moate once again, scoring the all-important fourth goal, having scored 2-2 in the group game between the same teams. Another key component in Moate’s victory was the impact of substitute Ruairí Cunningham, who supplied good ball inside which the forwards thrived on.

Despite an outstanding display from Shane Allen (scorer of eight points), the Athlone camp was left wondering how they managed to lose this battle between two of the traditional southern powers.

The chief reasons for Athlone’s defeat were the concession of four goals (Moate also raised four green flags when winning the group game between the teams, 4-15 to 4-10) and wasteful shooting. Conceding goals has been a major problem throughput the campaign, with the Shannonsiders having let in 14 goals over the course of six games.

Athlone controlled possession for long spells of the first half when playing against the breeze. John Twaddle’s men led by 1-7 to 1-6 at half-time but this was meagre reward for their dominance in general play. The finishing prowess and composure of the injured Stephen O’Connor (Athlone’s best forward in this year’s championship) was sorely missed in attack. Athlone registered a total of 11 wides (six in the first half) as opposed to three for Moate.

In a championship which has thrown up several thrilling contests, this was another hugely enjoyable game for neutral spectators, but that is scant consolation to an Athlone side who allowed a semi-final place to slip from their grasp.

If the Athlone contingent was told beforehand that Moate dangerman Robbie Forde (albeit the Westmeath player looked hampered by injury with strapping on his right led) would be restricted to just a single point from play, they would surely have expected victory.

Shane Allen opened the scoring after a pass from Kieran Colclough, with Moate responding through points from Robbie Forde and Tobby Conteh (from close range following a great catch).

The game’s first goal arrived in the ninth minute. Darragh Lough’s pass allowed Ray Connellan to head goalwards and the midfielder’s shot found the net off Moate defender Andrew Gorman.

Moate centre half-back Cian Whitney took advantage of space outside the arc to land a two-pointer to level matters. Overall, though, Moate were playing second fiddle in general play despite having wind assistance as Allen and Connellan dictated matters at midfield. Kian Mitchell put Athlone back in front before Cillian Lynn was twice involved in goal attempts which were blocked out for fruitless ‘45s.

On 20 minutes, Moate’s hopes were boosted by their first goal, making it 1-4 to 1-2. Daragh Lowry’s delivery into the goalmouth was not dealt with by the Athlone defence and tall midfielder Harry Niall palmed the ball home.

Mitchell sent over a two-pointer in riposte for the game’s best score thus far, and Allen followed up with a left-footed point. As Conteh threatened a goal, Athlone skipper Michael Byrne was forced to produce a committed block at the expense of a ‘45 which led to a point from play for Eoin Bracken.

Two points from Allen (the first after playing a one-two with Mitchell) gave Athlone a 1-7 to 1-5 lead, but Whitney’s second score left the minimum between the sides at the interval.

The first score of the second half was an incredible two-pointer from Allen near the sideline which was worth the admission price alone. But in a forestate of what was to come, influential Moate sub Ruairí Cunningham then set up a chance for Conteh to raise his second white flag.

Moate punished Athlone for a turnover with a fisted point by Darragh Delaney and after Darragh Lough’s point attempt hit the post, better was to come from the All Whites’ perspective in the 37th minute. Forde’s handpass found Dylan Nulty and he swept the ball into the roof of the net with aplomb.

About a minute later, Lough struck for a superb goal at the other end, having attacked the space that opened up in front of him. Forde levelled matters at 2-9 apiece from a free, before Connellan’s point from play put the men in blue and white back ahead.

Another twist in this thriller came when a fine pass from Cunningham set up a goal chance for Delaney and Athlone netminder Darren Costello couldn’t keep his shot out (46th minute).

In response, Connellan responded to some off the ball fouling in ideal fashion by sending over a point, before Moate substitute Ronan Conway blocked a goal attempt from Lynn.

After Forde hit Moate’s first wide of the afternoon, Allen’s huge kick from a free yielded an orange flag, making it 2-13 to 3-9.

Moments after a foul on Shane Allen went unpunished, Harry Niall levelled matters with a 56th-minute point, before Billy Berry’s mishit shot fell into the path of Tobby Conteh, who found the net with a dropkicked effort. The Moate supporters didn’t care by what means the ball reached the net and Hagan Niall’s fisted score gave their side a valuable cushion of four points.

Yet the drama wasn’t over yet. In a bid to pull the game out of the fire, Athlone launched three two-pointer attempts (two from Allen and one from Eamon Martin). One of those attempts came after Moate manager Val Daly was yellow-carded for dissent and Athlone opted to bring the resulting 13-metre outside the arc.

But despite a despairing late onslaught, the only addition to Athlone’s tally was a late point from Mitchell as the Moate camp started to look ahead to a semi-final clash with old rivals The Downs.

Man of the match: Shane Allen (Athlone). Despite finishing on the losing side, Allen was the obvious choice for the accolade as he carried his team on his back for long spells. For Moate, Tobby Conteh again demonstrated his goalscoring threat; Cian Whitney was a prominent figure at centre half-back and Ruairí Cunningham made a huge impact off the bench.

Key moment: Moate's fourth goal, scored by Tobby Conteh, was the one which broke Athlone's resistance.

What's next: Moate will meet defending champions The Downs in their semi-final next Saturday.

Scorers - Moate: T Conteh 1-2; Harry Niall and D Delaney 1-1 each; D Nulty 1-0; C Whitney 0-3 (1tp); R Forde 0-2 (1f); E Bracken and Hagan Niall 0-1 each. Athlone: S Allen 0-8 (2tp); R Connellan 1-2; K Mitchell 0-4 (1tp, 1f); D Lough 1-0.

Moate All Whites - Peter McDonald; Dean Corbally, Cathal O’Brien, Andrew Gorman; James Bracken, Cian Whitney, Daragh Lowry; Paul Gorman (captain), Harry Niall; Eoin Bracken, Hagan Niall, Dylan Nulty; Tobby Conteh, Robbie Forde, Darragh Delaney. Subs: Ruairí Cunningham for E Bracken (half-time); Ronan Conway for Corbally (40 mins); Sam Fannin for Lowry (46); Billy Berry for Nulty (53).

Athlone - Darren Costello; Josh Kenny, James Finlass, Owen McNamara; Michael Byrne (captain), Diarmuid Martin, Mark Egan; Shane Allen, Ray Connellan; Kieran Colclough, Eamon Martin, Jordan Carr; Darragh Lough, Cillian Lynn, Kian Mitchell. Subs: Ryan O’Connor for Colclough (49 mins); Conor Rushe for Lynn (51).

Referee - Alan Coyne (C-F/C/W).