Thrilling Westmeath football final ends all square
The Downs 1-13, St Loman's, Mullingar 1-13
A crowd in the region of 5,000 spectators was treated to a thrilling Westmeath Senior Football Championship final at TEG Cusack Park today as St Loman's and The Downs played out a dramatic 1-13 to 1-13 draw.
The defending champions, St Loman's, were pushed to the limit by a determined Downs side, and it took a last-minute equaliser from Eoghan Hogan to force a replay.
The game kicked off with both teams showing their intent, but it was St Loman's who struck first. Fola Ayorinde found the back of the net after just six minutes, giving the holders an early advantage. However, The Downs were quick to respond, with Luke Loughlin producing a moment of brilliance to cancel out Ayorinde’s goal almost immediately. Loughlin’s stunning strike set the tone for a tense and evenly contested match.
As the first half progressed, both teams traded scores, with John Heslin and Ronan O’Toole leading the charge for St Loman's, while Loughlin remained a constant threat for The Downs.
Despite the best efforts of both sides, only a late free from Sam McCartan separated them at half-time, with St Loman's leading by the narrowest of margins, 1-6 to 1-5.
The second half saw the reigning champions extend their lead to three points, but The Downs were not about to roll over. They battled their way back into the contest, levelling the score multiple times, driven by the outstanding play of Loughlin, whose workrate and scoring ability kept his side in the hunt.
As the game entered injury-time, it appeared that The Downs might dethrone the champions. Loughlin stepped up to calmly slot over a free in the second minute of added time, putting his side 1-13 to 1-12 ahead. With just 45 seconds left on the clock, St Loman's faced a daunting task, needing to work the ball from their own kickout all the way to the scoring zone.
In true champion style, St Loman's rose to the challenge. John Heslin, who had been superb throughout, found Hogan with a precise pass, and the substitute coolly slotted the equaliser to rescue a replay for his side. It was a dramatic end to what had been a fiercely contested battle between two top-quality teams.
Loughlin's wonder goal and Heslin’s outstanding second-half points will be remembered as standout moments in this captivating encounter, while Ronan O'Toole also contributed a stunning second half point for the defending champions. The impressive standard of shooting from both sides made for a memorable contest.
The Downs, however, will be frustrated not to have closed out the game after coming so close to victory. Both teams will now regroup and prepare to do it all again next weekend, with the Flanagan Cup still very much up for grabs.
The replay is expected to take place next Saturday and it will be a bumper weekend for Westmeath GAA, with the intermediate and junior football finals on Sunday.
There was some confusion as to whether there would be extra-time and an announcement merely added to that, but clubs had agreed from the start of the year that there would be a replay in the senior final if it ended in a draw. That was passed by the clubs at the time, but clearly forgotten about since. Luckily, extra-time wasn't played as it would have almost certainly led to a challenge and spoiled what was a memorable senior final.
Both sides were keen to accentuate the positive afterwards. Johnny Murray, manager of The Downs, praised his team's collective display, but reserved special mention for Loughlin, who scored a wonder goal.
St Loman's manager Paddy Dowdall said he wasn't surprised by The Downs' display. He referred to the class of John Heslin at crucial stages and felt his side were unlucky not to get a close-range free when Nathan Lally seemed to be fouled in the 59th minute, but play continued.
Both managers were critical of the confusion surrounding extra-time.