Late scoring spree rescues determined Castledaly outfit

Castledaly 2-12, St Mary's Rochfortbridge 2-7

A crazy last five minutes saw Castledaly score 1-5 to beat St Mary’s Rochfortbridge in the Westmeath Intermediate Football Championship at Moate last Sunday.

Castledaly’s response to setbacks was admirable and they had many. Varying from losing their keeper Jordan Nugent to concussion to having to move one of their key players, Alan Stone, inside as he was clearly hobbling about with a heavily strapped knee. They missed numerous chances to score in the third quarter. But still they stuck at it to the very end and pulled off a Houdini act in winning the game.

St Mary’s got off to the better start. Jack Reid got the scoring up and running in the third minute. Lorcan Dolan from a free levelled up the game in the eighth minute. Niall Cully got his name on the scoresheet for St Mary’s soon after.

Scores were at a minimum and neither side could muster any combination play in the first quarter. Ken Raqueno rattled the crossbar with Nugent beaten in the Castledaly goal in the 15th minute and immediately afterwards they had another goal opportunity again they missed, this time Nugent saved. St Mary’s were the stronger side in the opening quarter.

Then Eddie Whelehan had a free in the middle of the field, Whelehan’s kick was cut out and within seconds Lorcan Dolan put the ball in Owen Gorman’s goal. The Rochfortbridge side weren’t deterred by that give-away goal though. They responded with a vengeance. They scored two goals themselves in the second quarter. Reid grabbed the first and that was followed immediately afterwards when Darragh Hall rattled Nugent’s net. Castledaly went over 15 minutes without a score until Lorcan Dolan kicked their first score since the 13th minute - in the 29th minute, leaving St Mary's ahead by double scores, 2-4 to 1-2, at the break.

Castledaly had a whirlwind start to the second half but every scoring attempt whirled wide. Yes Lorcan Dolan scored early in the second half. But they missed a potential 1-4 in a 10-minute spell of play. Lorcan Dolan smashed a goal attempt off the crossbar. They missed very scoreable frees and a mark. They were opening up the St Mary’s defence without punishing their opponents.

Heading into the third quarter the game had looked like it was gone on Castledaly. But their only hope was that St Mary’s scoring had dried up.

St Mary’s scored just three times in the second half and they left the door somewhat ajar for Castledaly.

But Castledaly lost their keeper Nugent with concussion and with their leader and midfielder Alan Stone carrying an injury and gone into the full forward line, the task looked too much for them. In the 54th minute the score read St Mary’s 2-7 Castledaly 1-6. The clock was heading for the red and all had seemed lost for Paul Kelly’s managed side. But then the crazy stuff started. Castledaly somehow made a miraculous comeback. They kept tipping over the points.

Cutting into the lead, substitute Darragh Kelly showed the way with a score in the 55th minute. Then Alan Stone, Aaron Nugent and Adam Turley kicked scores. Castledaly had levelled the game and as we entered injury time. Then Nugent found space inside and he went for the jugular - smashing the ball past Gorman and into the net. Castledaly suddenly found themselves in front for the first time in the game. But they weren’t letting up. They pushed on and kicked two more monster scores. First Heavin found the range off his left foot and then Alan Stone did even better off his left foot, kicking a huge score under pressure.

The final whistle went soon after and Castledaly had a deserved win. The win could galvanise Castledaly to surprise us all and maybe give this championship a right go. It will have given them confidence but also morale. They trailed for the majority of the game. They missed scoreable chances in the third quarter. They lost their keeper in the third quarter. They had an injured Alan Stone carrying them on one good leg. But they still kept plugging away and they got the win.

Scorers -Castledaly: A Nugent 1-2, L Dolan 0-4 (2f), F Hynes 1-0, A Stone 0-2, A Turley 0-2f, D Kelly and D Heavin 0-1 each.  St Mary’s Rochfortbridge: J Reid 1-1, D Hall 1-1, K Raqueno 0-2, N Cully, T Fallon, I Keelan 0-1 each.   Castledaly: Jordan Nugent, John Warbutton, Michael Lynch, David Dolan, MJ Kelly, Shane Fitzpatrick, Shane Dolan, Alan Stone, Daniel Heavin, Cathal Dolan, Fergal Hynes, Adam Turley, Justin Coughlan, Lorcan Dolan, Aaron Nugent. Subs George Kearney for Cathal Dolan, Dave Stone for S Dolan,, Cathal Dolan for J Nugent, Darragh Kelly for Coughlan.

St Mary’s Rochfortbridge Owen Gorman, Dan O’Sullivan, Peter Lawlor, Niall Cully, Darragh Brunton, Eddie Alfard, Enda Cully, Jake Byrne, Sean Lyster, Gerry Byrne, Darragh Hall, Eddie Whelehan, Brendan Brady, Jack Reid, Ken Raqueno. Subs Tiernan Fallon for Lyster, Ian Keelan for Brunton.

Referee: Gary Hurley (Moate All Whites).

In a nutshell

Man of The Match

Alan Stone (Castledaly): Stone was instrumental in the win for Castledaly. Castledaly turned a negative situation into a positive when their midfielder Stone was obviously struggling with a knee injury. He was moved into the attack close to goal and he proved to be the perfect outlet for the team. Stone kicked 0-2 and was involved in the majority of scores, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game. Lorcan Dolan also stood up when needed. For St Mary’s, Darragh Hall and Jack Reid were best.

Key moments

The key moment was the substitution of Cathal Dolan into the goalkeeping position. Castledaly had lost their ‘keeper Jordan Nugent with a head injury. Dolan had started wing forward but he looked right at home between the sticks and came out involved in the play.