Garvey’s goal gives Tubberclair the edge
Tubberclair 1-14, Mullingar Shamrocks 2-9
By Paul Hughes
The half-time introduction of Westmeath star Matthew Whittaker and a late goal from Paul Garvey were crucial factors as Tubberclair battled their way to a maiden league win away to Mullingar Shamrocks last Saturday afternoon.
A stiff cross-field breeze had a chaotic effect on proceedings at Springfield but the sides still managed to serve up decent, competitive fare, with the points up for grabs right to the final whistle.
Shamrocks led 1-5 to 0-4 at half time, buoyed by a Trevor Keena goal, and after a few setbacks – including an injury to Daragh Daly – they looked in good shape when Denis Corroon raised a second green flag with ten minutes to go.
However, Whittaker was a diamond for the visitors and in that final ten minutes, he fired three points and set up a goal for Paul Garvey, as Keith Higgins’ charges broke their duck in Division 1.
Shamrocks saw plenty of ball in the opening quarter but Tubberclair were more economical with their possession, leading 0-4 to 0-1 after 16 minutes. They were almost in for a goal shortly after the throw-in, with Conor Elliott feeding the inrushing Fred Kelleher, who dinked the bouncing ball over the bar.
Wing-back Paul Garvey kicked a fine score from wide out on the right with six minutes gone, before Dean Moore finally got Shamrocks off the mark two minutes later after being teed up by Dylan Franzoni.
Tubberclair then extended their lead, with Kelleher adding his second after a move involving Stephen McGonagle and Conor Elliott and just after the quarter-hour mark, Eoghan McCabe tacked on a free to leave the Southerners well in the ascendancy.
From there, Mullingar Shamrocks, who had lots of possession but couldn’t make it count, settled into their groove. Denis Corroon moved into a deeper role to police Kelleher and co and at the other end, Killian Mooney came to the fore, dividing the posts before Dean Moore cut the arrears to a point after Daragh Daly found him in space.
Then, on 24 minutes, David Martin’s charges levelled when after a lengthy run, Dillon Matthews found Mooney, who turned and pointed off his left. Within a minute, Dean Moore fired his third from close range after a neat passing move.
The hosts completed the reversal of fortunes on 26 minutes when Shane Ormsby sprinted through the middle and shipped right to an unmarked Trevor Keena, who rattled the roof of the net with a powerful shot. Brendan O’Reilly could have added a second moments later, but fired just wide.
Mullingar would have hoped to hit the ground running with some early second-half scores but they were rocked by an injury to experienced midfielder Daragh Daly after the throw-in. Gavin Pierce came into the fray, with Brian Farrell also introduced to add some physical presence to the attack.
However, Matthew Whittaker also took to the field for Tubberclair and his presence showed. He was at the centre of the action as the visitors kicked four consecutive scores to level matters once again. The points came from Finn Duffy (2, one from play), Kevin Claffey (after a good move) and centre back Tom Kelleher (from distance).
Shamrocks regained their lead thanks to a Dean Moore free but Whittaker’s pace became even more of a headache for the Mullingar outfit, with Denis Corroon drifting forward frequently to help generate scores.
Whittaker was the provider on 46 minutes for Conor Elliott to restore parity, and after Brian Farrell handpassed over the bar to restore Shamrocks’ lead, the Tubberclair maestro had a penalty claim turned down when he was hauled down by David Gavin.
This rankled Tubberclair even more on 50 minutes when Shamrocks netted for a second time. The Southerners were caught out at the back by a quick free, with the first goalscorer Trevor Keena turning provider for Denis Corroon to smash home from close range.
Tubberclair, now 2-7 to 0-9 adrift, didn’t panic and Whittaker and co worked the miracle in the ensuing ten minutes with a quickfire 1-3. Conor Elliott kicked off the comeback with a point, potentially with a goal on, before Whittaker divided the posts twice in the space of a minute.
Underlining the importance of his introduction, the same player set up the inrushing Paul Garvey to drive a powerful shot to the Shamrocks net.
Mullingar responded with a left-footed point from sub Gavin Pierce, but back came Whittaker again. His two-point effort came back off the crossbar but a moment later, he won the ball again and galloped down the left flank before kicking a fine third score, carried just inside the post by the breeze.
Time was running out for Shamrocks, and a stoppage time free from Dean Moore narrowed the gap to a single point again. At the other end though, Tubberclair hunted a clincher and after a number of attempts, Fred Kelleher shot over to seal a two-point win for the visitors.
Scorers - Tubberclair: P Garvey 1-1, F Kelleher and M Whittaker 0-3 each, F Duffy (1f) and C Elliott 0-2 each, E McCabe (free), K Claffey and T Kelleher 0-1 each. Mullingar Shamrocks: D Moore 0-5 (2f), T Keena and D Corroon 1-0 each, K Mooney 0-2, B Farrell and G Pierce 0-1 each.
Tubberclair: Kevin Fagan; Stephen McGonagle, Seán McGrane, Matthew Lynch; Paul Garvey, Tom Kelleher, Kevin Claffey; Tadhg Moody, Seán Claffey; Oisín Donoghue, Fred Kelleher, James Clarke; Finn Duffy, Conor Elliott, Eoghan McCabe. Subs used: Matthew Whittaker for Donoghue, Robbie Curley for Clarke.
Mullingar Shamrocks: Liam English; Dylan Franzoni, Dillon Matthews, Ryan Blundell; Alan Cashman, David Gavin, Brendan O’Reilly; Shane Ormsby, Daragh Daly; Andrew Shaw, Pearse Corroon, Killian Mooney; Trevor Keena, Denis Corroon, Dean Moore. Subs used: Brian Farrell for Shaw, Gavin Pierce for Daly (inj.), Ross Corroon for Mooney.
Referee: Alan Coyne (Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall).