Navan O’Mahony’s 0-28 Rathmolyon 4-13 AET

After an epic battle over eighty plus minutes, Navan O’Mahony’s secured their place in the final of the IHC, with a three point victory over Rathmolyon. Over the course of the game, the lead swapped hands on ten different occasions, with the sides level five times. 

Finn Malone pointed to give O’Mahony’s an early lead after two minutes, followed shortly afterwards by a free from Jack Walsh. Rathmolyon took the lead when a ball hit the upright and in the scuffle in the square, ended in the net.  Walsh left the sides level again with a free a minute later.

Two points in quick succession gave Rathmolyon the edge after ten minutes. This was narrowed by an impressive score from Jack McConnell after a good interception from Paddy Dillon. Walsh left the sides level again but Rathmolyon managed a good score from play to keep slightly ahead.

McConnell gave a good pass to Malone who left the sides level before Walsh pushed them ahead with a free. Jack Flynn added his name to the scoresheet before Walsh hit a great score from a tight angle to put a couple of points between the sides. Two goals within ninety seconds gave Rathmolyon a good boost and when they added a point, five separated the sides.

O’Mahony’s didn’t drop the heads however, and thanks to points from Tom Condon, Walsh, Dillon and Cormac Keyes, only the bare minimum separated the sides at the interval. 

Navan O’Mahony’s 0-13 Rathmolyon 3-05

It was the men in green who started the second half better, adding five points within the first eight minutes, along with a score from Condon. This restored their lead to five points and left O’Mahony’s facing an uphill battle. 

Again, O’Mahony’s kept chipping away at the scoreboard and two Walsh frees left three points between the sides after ten minutes. Eight minutes passed without score, in no small part due to good defensive work and blocks including two superb tackles by Keyes and Dillon. 

Others to impress in the half back line were Mark Usher and Cormac O’Shea while the full back line of Ben McEntagart, Finn McNally and Evan Cully proved solid and were buoyed by the introduction of Dermot McKenna who played a key role in the game. 

A free left four in it until Keyes scored from play leaving three in it once again. Three frees from Walsh left O’Mahony’s needing a single point in injury time to save their season. Cometh the hour, cometh the man as Conor O’Dwyer stepped forward for the crucial score. Rathmolyon had one more opportunity to seal the deal, with the final whistle blowing as the ball went wide.

Navan O’Mahony’s 0-21 Rathmolyon 3-12

McConnell, who had put in a trojan performance throughout the game, gave his side the lead in the opening stages of extra time. Within thirty seconds, Rathmolyon scored their fourth goal of the day and led by two points.  Four minutes later, it was McConnell again who narrowed the gap. 

In the closing minutes, both sides added points, with O’Mahony’s coming from a free from Walsh. As at half time in normal time, a point separated the sides

Navan O’Mahony’s 0-24 Rathmolyon 4-13

With ten minutes between them and a county final, O’Mahony’s knew they had to give it their all and Dillon led the way, equalising after less than twenty seconds.  A minute or so later, it was once again O’Dwyer with the key score than gave O’Mahony’s the lead.

A fourth minute point from Jack Flynn proved to be an insurance point of sorts as O’Mahony’s new target became preventing a goal. They did this successfully and Rathmolyon were unable to score. The final score of the game came when Sean McDermott put three between the sides, putting O’Mahony’s into the final for the second consecutive year.

Navan O’Mahony’s: John Foley, Evan Cully, Ben McEntagart, Finn McNally, Cormac O’Shea, Cormac Keyes (0-02), Mark Usher, Jack McConnell (0-03), Paddy Dillon (0-02), Jack Flynn (0-02), Sam Formosa, Jack Walsh (0-12), Finn Malone (0-02), Shane McCarthy, Tom Condon (0-02)

Subs: Conor O’Dwyer (0-02) for McCarthy, Dermot McKenna for Cully, Sean McDermott (0-01) for Condon, Evan Brady for Usher, Cormac Nugent for McConnell

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