Daly's heroics set up historic penalty shootout win for St Loman's

St Loman's goalkeeper, Jason Daly, was at the heart of his team’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over The Downs in the Westmeath Senior Football Championship final replay at TEG Cusack Park this afternoon.

The Westmeath star played a pivotal role in securing the title after the game ended 1-10 apiece after normal time and 1-15 to 2-12 at the end of extra-time. Daly produced a great save to deny Luke Loughlin and then smothered Charlie Drumm's penalty kick to give his side control of the shootout and hand the psychological edge to players like Ronan O'Toole, Sam McCartan and John Heslin, who each found the net in clinical fashion.

The defending champions ultimately emerged with 3-0 victory on penalties to retain the famous Flanagan Cup. It's the first time a Westmeath senior football final has been decided on penalty kicks and the first time a club has played in 12 finals in succession, including the two replays in 2021 and this year.

Reflecting on the unique nature of the win, Daly admitted that deciding a championship final via penalties is not ideal. "A win on penalties is unusual, and to be honest, I don’t agree with it going to penalties. The Downs are such a good team – they brought us to extra time and a replay, and it's harsh for it to end that way," he said. "But look, I’m just happy that we came out on the right side."

Daly praised the resilience of both sides, recognising that there was little to separate them throughout the encounter. "It was tough going in extra-time. There was nothing in the game, and I’d just like to say to The Downs - they’re a great team and they’ll be back next year. Every one of us knew it would be close, but I didn’t think it would be that close," he added.

While penalties are rare in GAA, Daly admitted that they had done some preparation for the possibility. "We didn’t do much on it the week before, but we had done a little bit of work on penalties. In GAA, it’s hard to get five penalty takers, to be honest. It’s not something you can really practise much - it’s not realistic."

As a goalkeeper, Daly acknowledged that penalty shootouts often favour the man between the posts. "In that situation, it probably suits the goalie more. You’re in a safe position, and there’s a lot of pressure on the lads taking the penalties. It’s brave to step up and take one, and I wouldn’t take one myself!" Daly said. "It’s not the best way to decide a game, but that’s the way it is."

Shane Dempsey’s return was another key factor for St Loman’s, with the forward netting an early goal to set the tone for the final. "Shane got injured a few weeks ago, and we didn’t think he’d make it, but he got a great goal. We need all our players, and The Downs are such a good side, so it was important to have him back," Daly commented.

The Downs came back strongly in the second half, putting St Loman’s under significant pressure, but Daly praised the experience and composure of his teammates in the latter stages. "There was a stage I thought the game was gone on us because The Downs had us under the cosh," Daly admitted. "But we’ve lads who have won three, four, five championships and have played in a lot of finals; maybe that experience stood to us in the end."

St Loman's composure in the penalty shootout was crucial, with Daly pointing out the quality of his colleagues’ spot-kicks. "There were great penalties. From my angle, they looked really good, and I think that helped us over the line in the end."

The victory marked Daly’s seventh senior title, but he is already looking ahead to future challenges. "That’s seven for me, some lads have eight, so I’ll have to try and get another one!" he joked. "It’s great to be involved with this team – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime group. We’ve made it to 10 finals in a row, and while we don’t really appreciate it now, I think when I look back at the end of my career, I’ll realise how amazing that is."

Daly concluded by acknowledging the significance of St Loman’s achievement. "I don’t think that’s been done in Westmeath before. Athlone, Rosemount, Shamrocks - they’ve all won a lot of championships, but to make 10 finals in a row is incredible. Thankfully, it wouldn’t have felt as good if we’d lost today, but we got the win."

Fittingly, team captain and marquee forward John Heslin scored the match-winning penalty as his side triumphed and he proudly exclaimed that his side had confounded their critics as he accepted the Flanagan Cup on their behalf.

"Imagine doubting a team that has appeared in 10 Westmeath senior finals in-a-row? Today we proved a lot of people wrong," he proudly declared after Frank Mescall, Westmeath GAA chairman, handed over the famous trophy, first presented by the late Paddy Flanagan in the early 1960s.

It's the second time in five years that St Loman's, Mullingar has won back-to-back senior football titles.

Mescall paid tribute to both sides after a memorable Westmeath SFC replay that attracted around 5,000 supporters to TEG Cusack Park on a glorious October's day.

Luke Loughlin of The Downs picked up the Man of The Match award after an impressive display that included 1-5 of his side's tally, but he was inconsolable after defeat in such cruel circumstances.