Rain ruins hurling showdown
Lough Lene Gaels 0-2, Castletown Geoghegan 0-0
(Match abandoned after 13 mins).
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Noel Conaty of Lough Lene Gaels makes a clearance during the SHC final at TEG Cusack Park on Sunday. Pics: J McCauley. JOHN_MC_CAULEYImage 2 of 3
Niall O’Brien, Castletown Geoghegan, gets to the ball ahead of Eoin Daly and Dan Higgins. JOHN_MC_CAULEYImage 3 of 3
Referee Barry Kelly informs both managers that the game is being abandoned. JOHN_MC_CAULEYThe horrible weather in and around Mullingar last Sunday afternoon proved to be the ultimate spoilsport for the large attendance in rain-soaked TEG Cusack Park as the normally-pristine surface was unable to facilitate the playing of the eagerly-awaited Westmeath Examiner Cup decider between Lough Lene Gaels and Castletown-Geoghegan.
Following on from the intermediate and senior ‘B’ finals at the same venue on the Saturday, and the minor decider at 1.15 pm the following day, there were fears before the game that the blue riband event in Lake County hurling would not actually go ahead. However, it was decided to commence the game at 3.30pm, albeit many of those present were concerned that the game could end in fading light as the clocks had been moved back 14 hours earlier.
After a parade of the teams behind Mullingar Town Band and the singing of Amhrán na bhFiann, referee Barry Kelly, officiating at his tenth senior final (including one football) threw in the sliotar.
David Williams was untypically wide from a first-minute ‘65’ (which he had manufactured himself) before the first ‘scrum’ of the brief contest, an obvious consequence of the appalling underfoot conditions.
Some three minutes later, the same player teed up Eoin Daly for a well-taken opening point, and Williams superbly doubled the Gaels’ lead in the sixth minute despite stumbling as he shot. He then struck the post from a 50-metre free as conditions visibly worsened.
Shane Clavin struck Castletown-Geoghegan’s first wide – their opponents ended up with three – and shortly afterwards, Kelly asked to speak with Frank Mescall (county board chairman) and Brendan Shaw (county board secretary), and a decision was made to call off the game.
It will now be played at TEG Cusack Park next Saturday with a 2pm throw-in.
Scorers - Lough Lene Gaels: E Daly, D Williams 0-1 each. Castletown-Geoghegan: n/a.
Lough Lene Gaels: Noel Conaty; Daire Daly, Dan Higgins, Dan Reilly; Philip Reilly, Daragh Qamar, Shane Williams; Brendan Doyle, Micheal Daly; Tommy Doyle, David Williams, Eoin Daly; Marcus Kennedy, Warren Williams, Aaron Kennedy. Subs used: None.
Castletown-Geoghegan: Ciaran O’Brien; Naoise McKenna, Aaron Glennon, David Maloney; Johnny Bermingham, Jack Murphy, Morgan Gavigan; Peter Clarke, Shane Clavin; Conor Murphy, Aonghus Clarke, Liam Varley; David O’Reilly, Niall O’Brien, Jack Gallagher. Subs used: None.
Ref: Barry Kelly (St Oliver Plunkett’s).