Garrycastle hang on

Garrycastle got their 2009 campaign underway on Saturday evening last with a draw against perennial rivals Mullingar Shamrocks in Cusack Park. This was a game of two halves really with Garrycastle dominating the first and Shamrocks the second but the wides tally of Shamrocks will be a horror story to Paul Ahearne and the management team. Time after time they worked the ball into scoring positions only to see it wasted terribly by bad shooting and poor decision making. But for the brilliance of diminutive corner-forward Conor Moore, the Mullingar side could well have struggled to get anything out of the game. Garrycastle will be the happier team as they know they escaped when, in truth, they should have been well beaten. Shamrocks" county stars Donal O"Donoghue and Kieran Gavin looked well off the pace and possibly carrying injuries which did not help and they will improve as the season goes on. But the Mullingar side will know that this was two points that they left behind. Neither team will be completely happy but it is early in the season and both sides can now knuckle down to some serious work. Shamrocks had the better of the opening exchanges, but a fine individual score from James Dolan stared the ball rolling when he converted a super score. Des Dolan pointed from a free on 5 minutes as Garrycastle gained the upper hand. Brian O"Sullivan got one back for Shamrocks from a free, but the game was blown completely apart when Doran Harte and Des Dolan combined to set Seanie O"Donoghue free, and he made no mistake from close range to fire the ball to the net for a marvellous goal. Conor Moore and Paul Dillon then exchanged points before O"Sullivan got one back for Mullingar from a free that was far too easily conceded. Des Dolan then had a wonderful goal chance but was denied by a wonderful save from Shamrocks goalkeeper Sean Maguire. Dolan made amends when an excellent through ball led to another O"Donoghue point. Conor Moore was causing major problems for Garrycastle and two of his passes led to scores from Cian O"Leary and Denis Corroon, which left just 2 between the sides. Dolan restored the one score margin with a simple tap-over that left the score at the break 1-5 to 0-5 in Garrycastle"s favour. After the break it was all Shamrocks as they tried to eat into the Garrycastle lead but their only reply early on was an O"Sullivan free kick. Dolan negated that with a free of his own but it was to be the last that the "Castle would score as they fought a defensive action for the last 25 minutes. In that time John Gaffey and James Dolan were magnificent and they thwarted many a Shamrocks attack, but Mullingar were their own greatest enemies as they kicked wide after wide. Simon Quinn got one back from a super through ball by Brian Melody but, for every good move, there were several poor ones and the Garrycastle defence lapped them up. O"Sullivan missed several close frees for Mullingar and they could have been out the gate at this stage, but Denis Corroon found Quinn and he narrowed the gap to just a single score. Again Shamrocks pressed but could not find that killer touch and it looked as if Garrycastle would hold on, but then Quinn found O"Leary who slotted over the equaliser. Shamrocks pressed hard for the winner but were denied late on by a great save from Cathal Mullin and the game petered out. For Shamrocks, Conor Moore was the star and he almost beat Garrycastle on his own while Corroon and Michael Curley were others to shine. Gareth Doyle is a find at midfield and the return of Anthony Clinton has certainly boosted their prospects. Garrycastle will wonder where they are going to find scores if Des Dolan is held. Their attack lacked cohesion and, but for cameos from Donoghue, Dillon and Harte, they were bereft of creativity. At the back, Gaffey and James Dolan were excellent, while Cathal Mullin in goal did what was asked. But they will need to improve considerably if they are to have any say in the latter stages of the championship. SCORERS - Garrycastle: S O"Donoghue 1-1; D Dolan 0-3 (2f); P Dillon, James Dolan 0-1 each. Mullingar Shamrocks: B O"Sullivan 0-3 (3f); C O"Leary and S Quinn 0-2 each; D Corroon, C Moore 0-1 each. GARRYCASTLE: Cathal Mullin, Mark McCallon, John Gaffey, Pauric Rattigan, James Dolan, Karl Henson, Enda Mulvihill, David O"Shaughnessy, Aidan Browne, Seanie O"Donoghue, James Duignan, Doran Harte, Paul Dillon, Des Dolan, Robbie Fox. Subs: Alan Daly for Mulvihill (48 mins); Donovan Hermbusche for (Rattigan 53); Gary Dolan for Fox (55). MULLINGAR SHAMROCKS: Sean Maguire, David Miller, Kieran Gavin, Aaron Purcell, Michael Curley, Donal O"Donoghue, Denis Corroon, Anthony Clinton, Gareth Doyle, Brian Melody, Simon Quinn, Brian O"Sullivan, Conor Moore, Shane Colleary, Cian O"Leary. Sub: Ciaran Curley for Colleary (40 mins). REFEREE: Sean Sheridan (Tyrrellspass).