Garrycastle lay down a marker in league decider

Garrycastle 3-11, Caulry 2-10

By Paul Hughes

Intermediate clubs due to face Garrycastle in championship fare over the coming months were given a very clear signal of intent by the Athlone club on Sunday evening, when they chalked up an impressive victory against Caulry in the Westmeath Division 2 football league decider.

A trio of second-half goals from Mickey Monaghan, Ben Donegan and sub Jamie Carroll in a 13-minute spell proved to be a combination that a fancied Caulry side couldn’t recover from.

The Reds led 1-5 to 0-6 at the break courtesy of a penalty from Emmet Nally, but some poor shot selection over the course of the hour meant that even after a late goal from Alan Malynn, Pat Flanagan’s troops came up short in their hunt for league honours.

Garrycastle, relegated from senior ranks last year, looked fit, hungry and capable and will surely be eager to make this league win the first step on the road to championship redemption in 2024.

In an exciting opening quarter at TEG Cusack Park, the sides were level at 0-2 each after three minutes, with Monaghan kicking two fine points for Garrycastle and their opponents keeping in touch with scores from Aaron Rourke and Nally.

Garrycastle had the best of the next five minutes, and Conor Cosgrove kicked a lovely score off his left boot before a free from Monaghan extended their advantage to two.

However, Caulry raced into the lead on 10 minutes when Nally was brought down while on the attack before being awarded a penalty, which he tucked away with aplomb.

The Mount Temple outfit failed to generate any momentum from this and a couple of wides followed from Malynn and Senan Baker – a third for the latter, who had a disappointing evening in front of the posts.

Garrycastle regained their lead thanks to points from Monaghan (a free) and Gary McCallon, and they could have had a goal in between when Jason Nugent teed up James Dolan, and his low shot trickled agonisingly onto the upright before being cleared.

Caulry endured another setback when veteran corner back Damien Dolan limped off, but the Reds had the best of the half’s closing minutes when points from Baker (a free), sub Seán Clinton and midfielder Stephen Connolly put them two ahead at the short whistle.

That lead became three after the restart when scores from Alan Malynn and Conor McCormack cancelled out an earlier effort from Garrycastle’s Conor Cosgrove – but from there, it all went wrong for Caulry.

On 34 minutes, Mickey Monaghan had the ball in the net for Gary Dolan’s charges when a defensive calamity by Caulry left him the simple task of tapping the ball home. Goalkeeper Jack Connaughton and his defence misjudged the flight of a free, leaving an empty net for the inrushing Monaghan.

After a lull in play during which Caulry continued to misfire, Garrycastle then went ahead on 45 minutes when a superb move led to sub Jamie Carroll cutting in from the left corner to drive a low shot past Connaughton.

A third goal arrived two minutes later when Ben Donegan curled the ball to the net soccer-style, after his initial wayward ball was nudged down into his path by Carroll.

By the 51st minute, the tie was as good as over, when points from Garrycastle netminder Seán Brennan (a ‘45’) and Conor Cosgrove (a free) put eight between the sides (3-9 to 1-7).

Veteran Westmeath star Kevin Maguire almost conjured a goal when firing a powerful shot over the bar for Caulry, but this response was cancelled out by a fine solo effort from Garrycastle’s Jason Nugent.

The Reds, though demoralised, weren’t finished yet, and midfielder Colin Murphy tacked on a score before sub Harry Stuart Trainor burst through the Garrycastle defence and played a neat pass to the unmarked Alan Malynn, who found the net with a left-footed drive.

Caulry needed to kick on from here but again, they missed a couple of chances, with Conor McCormack hitting the upright for a second time and Senan Baker posting his fifth wide. Deep into injury time, Stephen Connolly converted a mark, but it felt like too little, too late for the Mount Temple men.

At the other end, Cathal Mannion finished off a fine Garrycastle move with the insurance score, and at full time, captain Jack Donohue was presented with the Division 2 trophy by Westmeath GAA chairman Frank Mescall.

Man of the match: Mickey Monaghan (Garrycastle): Monaghan was the best forward on display in the first half and, in the second, chipped in with his side’s first goal, notwithstanding the fact that it was laid on a plate for him by a Caulry error.

Key moment: Ben Donegan’s 47th-minute goal for Garrycastle put real daylight between the sides.

Scorers - Garrycastle: M Monaghan 1-4 (0-2f), C Cosgrove 0-3 (1f), J Carroll and B Donegan 1-0 each, G McCallon, S Brennan (‘45’), J Nugent and C Mannion 0-1 each. Caulry: E Nally 1-1 (1-0 pen) and A Malynn 1-1 each, S Connolly 0-2 (1m), A Rourke, S Baker (f), S Clinton, C McCormack, K Maguire and C Murphy 0-1 each.

Garrycastle: Seán Brennan; Jack Mulvihill, Jack Donohue, Gary McCallon; Anthony Larkin, Matthew Guiheen, James Dolan; Andy Monaghan, Conor McKiernan; Conor Cosgrove, Eoin Mulvihill, Mickey Monaghan; James Sheerin, Jason Nugent, Ben Donegan. Subs used: Cathal Mannion for A Monaghan (33), Jamie Carroll for Sheerin (41), Ger Heneghan for Donegan (52), Michael Greene for Nugent (60+1).

Caulry: Jack Connaughton; Seán Fox, Tom Cloonan, Damien Dolan; Tadhg Baker, Eoghan Grennan, Kevin Maguire; Stephen Connolly, Colin Murphy; Olan Healy, Aaron Rourke, Senan Baker; Emmet Nally, Alan Malynn, Conor McCormack. Subs used: Neil Clinton for Dolan (inj., 15), Seán Clinton for Grennan (20), Harry Stuart Trainor for Rourke (49), Shane Lawless for Nally (55), Darren Hynds for Murphy (60+1).

Ref: Barry Pierce (St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge).