Although touted as major contenders for the Flanagan Cup at the outset, 2005 will rank as a highly disappointing year for the Tyrrellspass club as their depleted senior footballers bowed out to Castledaly at the quarter final stages. By Damian Maher The absence of key players was a major factor in Tyrrellspass' eventual capitulation in the last eight, where Castledaly inflicted a crushing 10-point defeat. The inimitable Martin Flanagan had suffered a bad injury in the early rounds of the championship, but was on holiday for the quarter final, while talented Westmeath duo David and Denis Glennon were plying their trade in America at the time. Clara native Pat Flanagan found his first year with Tyrrellspass a frustrating experience. Along with selectors Des Scally and Mark Staunton, Flanagan's hand was severely weakened for most of the championship, as, along with the aforementioned trio, Alan Rigney, Jimmy Carroll and Barry Murphy were also unavailable. There was some consolation for Tyrrellspass in '05 as, at the time of writing, their U21 footballers are preparing to contest the delayed 13-a-side football final against Caulry. A hard earned extra-time victory over Milltown in the first round set Tyrrellspass up for a meeting with Bunbrosna. Despite conceding home advantage, Tyrrellspass came through another tough assignment and have a team well capable of claiming ultimate honours in this competition. But that won't be a satisfactory return for a club with such lofty ambitions and Flanagan is hoping that a full strength team can be major player in the business end of the senior championship this year as they go in search of their first senior title since the famous 1999 success. "It was a very difficult and frustrating year because we always seemed to be chopping and changing, with players absent," admitted Flanagan, who led Kilbeggan to an intermediate title in 2000. A manager with much experience, Flanagan also guided Clara to a league and championship double in 2003. "We lost heavily to Castledaly alright, but were short up to seven first choice players for that game, which put us under severe pressure," he said. "Alright, it can be argued that we had 15 players on the pitch, but some of our key players were absent and we had a game plan that went out the window when we were reduced to 14 men early on. "While the players that were part of the panel but in an extreme effort, no club can afford to be so badly depleted." Flanagan's charges began their senior championship campaign in impressive fashion, scoring a seven points win over Athlone, 2-8 to 0-7. Tyrrellspass made a blistering start, with 1-4 in the first 20 minutes, to lead by six points at half time (1-6 to 0-3) and they were never threatened after the interval. Wing back Shane Arthur pounced to score the first goal after 13 minutes when he booted home after Denis Glennon's shot was saved. The second goal was scored by deadly corner forward John Corcoran, who latched on to a long delivery and finished to the net with aplomb, giving him a a personal tally of 1-4 and securing a wining start for the Tidy Town. "That was a good win over Athlone, who are always a tough team to beat," remarked Flanagan. Round two pitted Tyrrellspass against Coralstown/Kinnegad and it proved a tough assignment. Ultimately the concession of two goals, one in either half, proved costly as Tyrrellspass suffered their first reversal of the campaign. They had a slender lead at half time, 0-7 to 1-3, having conceded a 17th minute goal. Denis Glennon was denied a goal at an early stage in the second half and when Coralstown/Kinnegad swooped for a second major in the final minute, Tyrrellspass were left reeling. "This was a tough game for us because we played only a few days after Westmeath got knocked out of the Leinster Championship to Kildare, and we hadn't seen the county players for four or five weeks beforehand," admitted Flanagan. County champions elect, The Downs awaited in round three, where Tyrrellspass produced a good performance to emerge with a three points victory, 1-9 to 1-6. After a first half that failed to entice, Tyrrellspass led by 0-4 to 0-3, but no one could have anticipated what lay ahead in the second moiety. The Downs pounced for an early second half goal and looked to be heading for victory. However, Tyrrellspass simply refused to wilt and in the final minute Martin Flanagan pounced to fist home the goal which propelled them to victory - Shane Arthur and Flanagan adding late points to put the issue beyond doubt. "We played well in that game, particularly in the last 10 minutes when we really pressed hard for victory," recalled Flanagan. In Round four, Tyrrellspass conceded three goals and suffered a seven points defeat to Mullingar side, St. Loman's. They scored just a solitary point in the first half and trailed 0-1 to 1-4 at the interval, having conceded a 22nd minute goal. To make matters worse for Tyrrellspass, Martin Flanagan limped off injured before the break and they were really up against it. They conceded two goals in quick succession in the second half and while Gavin Hoey pounced for a late goal, it provided little more than consolation. In their final group game, Tyrrellspass registered a draw with Tubberclair (0-10 to 1-7) at Tang GAA grounds. Despite enjoying a five points lead at half time, Flanagan's charges conceded a goal in the 47th minute, before their opponents scored a late equalising point from a free. Despite qualifying for a quarter final meeting with Castledaly, Tyrrellspass' prospects looked bleak with some key players missing. They returned just a solitary score in the first half - a goal by Ray Sheerin - and trailed by four points at the interval, 1-0 to 0-7. Their prospects weren't helped when full forward Ronan Dunbar was sent off after just 17 minutes. The second half failed to produced the required transformation and just two points from Sheerin and Adrian Corcoran (free) left Tyrrellspass trailing badly at the final whistle. A disappointing campaign ended in a 10-point defeat (1-2 to 0-15). Division 1 of the All County League didn't hold much change for Tyrrellspass, who finished well down the pecking order. In the Feis Cup, The Downs proved too strong when the sides clashed in the first round. At underage level, Tyrrellspass' U12 side reached the league final, while their minor footballers qualified for the semi-final of the Division 3 championship, where they lost to eventual winners, Millmore Gaels. Tyrrellspass' Annual General Meeting wasn't held at the time of writing, but not many changes were envisaged. Pat Dunne was Chairman in 2005 and is expected to return, while Joe Daly acted as Secretary in a typically efficient manner. Club Treasurer was David Murphy and Tom Wyer was P.R.O. Pat Flanagan believes the new format in Westmeath will add real zest to the senior football championship this coming year. And he's expecting Tyrrellspass to put in a much improved showing. "We are looking for better things this year," he said. "The new format adds a bit of spice to the whole thing and the first round will be like a county final, but with a full team we can avenge last year's disappointing run." Tyrrellspass breeze to under 21 success Tyrrellspass were crowned under 21 13-a-side football champions for the fourth time since 1991 following a comfortable 3-6 to 1-4 victory over Caulry in the final at Drumraney on January 21 last. Inspired by senior county player Denis Glennon, whose younger brother David was absent due to injury, Tyrrellspass laid the foundations for their success in the first half when they built up an 11-point lead. Two goals from play and another from the penalty spot propelled the Tidy Town into a commanding position at the break and, while Caulry showed considerable improvement in the second half, they never looked capable of making up the deficit. Jointly managed by Pat Flanagan and Des Scally, Tyrrellspass set off at a frenetic pace and had the ball in the net after just 50 seconds. Darren Quinn, Joe Henson and Aidan Mealiffe were involved in a great move that ended with Cathal Daly firing past Caulry goalkeeper Alan Murphy. Caulry were unlucky to have a goal disallowed in the 11th minute and had to wait another four minutes for Damien Keenan to finally open their account. But instead of that score having a settling effect on the Mount Temple men, they were caught for a second goal in the 19th minute when Denis Glennon powered through the middle before finishing superbly to the roof of the net. Glennon's goal gave Tyrrellspass a 2-2 to 0-1 lead and five minutes before the break, the same player converted a penalty after Darren Quinn's shot was illegally blocked. In first half injury-time, the Westmeath star kicked a sublime left-footed point to send Tyrrellspass in at the break with a 3-3 to 0-1 lead. Caulry were a more determined team in the second half and three quick points form Damien Keenan, Peter Smith and Ernie Buckley gave them a glimmer of hope. When Smith goaled in the 49th minute, the margin was down to just six points and suddenly Tyrrellspass were beginning to look vulnerable. But despite having two players sent off for second yellow cards in an ill-tempered conclusion, the Tidy Town made sure of victory with late points from Keith Scally and Darren Quinn. The triumphant Tyrrellspass team was: Tommy Byrne; James Troy, Trevor John Gonoud; Paul Henry, Gavin Hoey, Joe Henson; Denis Glennon, James Carroll; Aidan Mealiffe, Cathal Daly, Keith Scally; Darren Quinn, Sean Bagnall. Subs used: Owen O'Neill and Brian Slevin. Tweet

Most Read Stories