Malynn penalty crucial as Caulry claim the spoils

Caulry 2-9 Tyrrellspass 1-5

By Darragh Fallon

Caulry deservedly captured the Westmeath Junior B Football title over Tyrrellspass in crisp conditions on Sunday afternoon in Tyrrellspass.

Despite starting the slower of the two teams Caulry dominated the majority of the game and will have thrilled their management and supporters with a piece of silverware to finish their season on a high.

It was day removed from Storm Darragh which swept over the country on Friday night and Saturday morning, and both teams gave their all despite the heavy underfoot conditions.

Caulry had the better of the first half and led by 1-5 to 0-4 at the interval. With two minutes on the clock Tyrrellspass opened the scoring through Brian Slevin after good work from David Lynam and Eoin Martin. Tyrrellspass maintained their positive start over the next seven minutes, but scores were difficult to come by and they could not capitalise on their dominance. A succession of wides from frees and play frustrated their efforts.

The men in red took full advantage of this and opened their account with a fine point from play in the eighth minute, following a fluid move involving Sean Murphy and Willie Buckley, before Alan Malynn provided the finish.

A minute later, Caulry raised the first green flag of the day. Liam Malynn found the energetic Olan Healy, who produced a lovely lifted finish over Phelim Brady in the Tyrrellspass goal.

Although Tyrrellspass produced some good attacking moves they again failed to trouble the scoreboard and Caulry punished this with a Liam Malynn free in the 13th minute to push their advantage out to four points. A minute later, Caulry pointed again with a fine score from play from Oisín Shortall following a lovely move down the left of the Caulry attack.

In the 16th minute Caulry again scored through Liam Malynn following good work from Seán Murphy to find the Caulry full forward. In the following eight minutes neither team could find their scoring range with more wides registered.

However, Tyrrellspass were next to score through a Tommy Ryan free in the 24th minute after great work from Mikie Mullen. This score seemed to give Tyrrellspass the boost they required and two fine points from play duly arrived in the following four minutes. Firstly, Cathal Dunne pointed after great work, recycling the ball from Brian Slevin, and in the following minute Slevin provided the final touch, flashing a shot over Cillian Nagle's crossbar after a fine pass by Mark Devine.

Caulry proceeded to round off the first half scoring with a good score from Thomas Dunning, following a free which was off target but recycled well, giving them a four-point cushion.

Before the second half throw-in, the Tyrrellspass management made two changes introducing Evan Connell and Sean Deegan for Eoin Martin and Cathal Monaghan respectively. Caulry opened the second half scoring in the third minute through a free from Liam Malynn, after a foul on Alan Malynn.

But despite such a positive start, supporters were not treated to a score for the next 15 minutes. In this period both teams made substitutions to make an impression on the game, however this final was becoming scrappy and it was difficult for either side to make inroads. In the 19th minute of the second half, Caulry broke the deadlock with a moment which took the game out of Tyrrellspass’s reach. A great run by Seán Murphy started it; he managed to stay on his feet and deliver the ball to Thomas Dunning who was fouled in the penalty area by Phelim Brady. With Brady receiving attention, it fell to Eoghan O'Neill to step into the goalkeeper’s position for the spot kick.

Liam Malynn neatly dispatched the penalty low and hard to the Tyrrellspass goalkeeper’s right for what proved a crucial goal.

Caulry were now eight points clear and they powered towards the finish line with another Liam Malynn free, a fine Shane Lawless score from play and a long distance Alan 'Barney' Daly score which brought cheers from the travelling faithful.

The Tyrrellspass men finally opened their account for the second half in the first minute of injury time through a Brian Slevin free. To close the scoring on the day, Tyrrellspass sent a high ball in towards David Lynam who hit the crossbar with his fisted effort before he reacted quickest to smash home the loose ball. The goal offered only consolation, however, as Caulry ended their season on a winning note.

Man of the match: Olan Healy (Caulry): There were many worthy contenders for this accolade, mainly from the men in red and white. The energy and drive from Olan Healy was one of the main highlights and he popped up consistently in the game, either breaking up attacks or powering forward to support teammates, while also providing a goal for his team.

Scorers – Caulry: L Malynn 1-4 (1-0 pen, 0-3 frees); O Healy 1-0; O Shortall, S Lawless, A Malynn, T Dunning and A Daly 0-1 each. Tyrrellspass: D Lynam 1-0; B Slevin 0-3 (1f); C Dunne and T Ryan (f) 0-1 each.

Caulry: Cillian Nagle; Glenn Carolan, Tom Cloonan, Oisin Shortall; Harry Stuart Trainor, Sean Murphy, Olan Healy; John Maguire, Shane Lawless; Willie Buckley, Alan Malynn, Alan 'Barney' Daly; Thomas Dunning, Liam Malynn, Luke Buckley. Subs: Colin Murphy for L Buckley, Ciaran Allen for L Malynn, Adam Donoghue for A Malynn, Brendan McCormack for W Buckley.

Tyrrellspass: Phelim Brady; Conor Gavigan, Jamie Corcoran, Eoghan O'Neill; Mark Devine, David Hanlon, Chris Daly; Cathal Dunne, David Lynam; Eoin Corcoran, Tommy Ryan, Cathal Monaghan; Mikie Mullen, Brian Slevin, Eoin Martin. Subs: Evan Connell for E Martin, Sean Deegan for C Monaghan, James McGivern for D Hanlon, Sean Bagnall for E Corcoran.

Referee: Vinny Cox (Rosemount).