Senior Football Championship: Mullingar Shamrocks 1-13 Maryland 2-7

It wasn't pretty and it wasn't impressive but it was a victory and that is really all that matters at this stage. We are now in an knock-out championship situation; our two remaining opponents, St Mary's, Rochfortbridge are in a similar position and from now on it is a winner takes all situation.

Shamrocks began in sprightly fashion and Brendan O'Reilly and Dean Moore had points in the opening minutes. Maryland were in no mood to roll over however and by the sixth minute had levelled matters. Paddy Joyce pointed after a great run but Kenny Kincaid netted to confirm the Maryland intentions of taking the game to Shamrocks. Ross Corroon making his  championship debut saved well initially but could do nothing about the rebound.  A Simon Quinn flick from a Denis Corroon free was brilliantly saved by Liam Moran; the subsequent 45 from Ross Corroon fell short. Paddy Joyce added another point as the Shamrocks defence was repeatedly stretched by Maryland who added two more points to bring their tally to 1-4 at the interval. In that time, Simon Quinn, Patrick Fagan and Dean Moore had points for Shamrocks to level matters (1-4 to 0-7).

Shamrocks added four points in the opening six minutes of the second half. Dean Moore had two and Alan Cashman and Darren Keena one each with Patrick Fagan supplying the passes for two of these efforts. At this stage, Killian Daly (black card ) and Efe Siode (red card) departed the scene but Shamrocks continued to dominate despite being a man short. Ciarán Curley was introduced as a substitute and with his first touch finished to the Maryland net to put Shamrocks 0-6 ahead (1-11 to 1-5) Denis Corroon and Kieran Martin exchanged points; Martin's effort sparked a Maryland revival that was ignited further by a punched Darren Maylinn goal (1-12 to 2-6). Martin pointed again and Shamrocks were in some difficulty. A great Ciarán Curley point provided some relief before referee Jim Rock blew the final whistle. 

The championship points secured on this occasion owed much to the great work on the night by a superb performance by Dónal O'Donoghue with great support from Micheál Curley, Brendan O'Reilly, Dean Moore and an important contribution on the scoreboard from  Ciarán Curley during his brief appearance as well as some crucial  emergency defending by Aaron Purcell and Eddie Moore.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Ross Corroon; Eddie Moore, Kieran Gavin, Aaron Purcell; Paddy Joyce (0-2) [Efe Siode], Killian Daly (Mark Butler), Micheál Curley; Denis Corroon (0-1), Patrick Fagan (0-1) [Ciarán Curley, 1-1]; Brendan O'Reilly (0-1), Dónal O'Donoghue, Alan Cashman (0-1) [Dillon Matthews]; Darren Keena (0-1) [Pearse Corroon], Dean Moore (0-4) and Simon Quinn (0-1).   

Westmeath LGF Senior Championship: Mullingar Shamrocks 3-11 The Downs 2-17

Mullingar Shamrocks LGF travelled to The Downs on Sunday evening for the first round of the senior championship. The sides met in May in the league and on that occasion Shamrocks ran out winners. Newly promoted The Downs were always going to present a much sterner test in the championship however. Shamrocks started well and went into an early lead, with points from Clara Thornton and Karen Hegarty. Carole Finch was at the end of a well worked move and rifled the ball to the net to consolidate the Shamrocks lead. The Downs however worked their way into the game with a series of well taken points. The remainder of the first half was played at frantic pace with good scores from both teams. A goal from Clara Thornton ensured that at half time Shamrocks were 4 points up and  leading 2-8 to 1-7.

The second half started well for Shamrocks with further points from Karen Hegarty and Emma Morris. Early in the second half, Shamrocks suffered a double blow with first the departure of Karen Hegarty due to an injury sustained in the first half and then shortly after an injury to centre back, Tara Fagan. Substitute  full-forward, Liveta Lazauskaite made an early impact scoring a goal from her first possession. The Downs then started to control the game and dominated the last twenty minutes. Although Shamrocks were 7 points up early in the second half, The Downs chipped away at their lead with a series of well taken points. It is telling that Shamrocks last score was a point from Clara Thornton at 46 minutes. The Downs equalized with a goal and scored 4 unanswered points to run out winners on a score line of 2-17 to 3-11.

Next up for the Shamrocks will be a tough away match against St Mary's, Rochfortbridge with both sides battling to gain their first vital championship points but to an end on a positive note, a team rarely loses a championship after scoring 3-11. Unfortunately, this was one such occasion in what was another superb game of Ladies Gaelic Football in keeping with the county's status as a Division 1 county. It's time to release the secret.  

Mullingar Shamrocks: Lauren McCormack, Lorna Morris, Niamh Spellman, Melek Fagan (Sophie Hegarty), Cliodhna Spellman (Shona McNicolas), Tara Fagan(Chloe Swarbrigg), Niamh Kennedy, Michelle Buckley, Anna Jones, Gemma Kerrigan (0-1), Emma Morris (0-2), Aine Melody (0-1), Carole Finch (1-0)[Susanna Buckley], Karen Hegarty (0-4)[Liveta Lazauuskaite,1-0], Clara Thornton (1-3)

Radisson Blu Minor Football Championship: Mullingar Shamrocks 2-9 Cill Óige 1-9

Mullingar Shamrocks  minors had a great win against a very strong Rosemount-Castledaly combination away in the quarter final of the championship last Thursday evening.

Shamrocks entered the match as underdogs but got off to a great start and raced to a 1-4 to 0-1lead but this advantage was reduced to 0- 2 by halftime. A piece of heroic defending and diving block was not rewarded when the resultant deflected shot evaded Sean Óg Hynes in goals just before half time.

Shamrock lined up against the wind and playing up the steep hill in the second half but again started brilliantly with a great individual point by Trevor Keena followed by a super team goal.

This was a great game of football played in good spirit throughout. Mullingar Shamrocks delivered a very mature and balanced team performance especially in the second half. The consistency of Sean Óg Hynes kick-outs and the high fielding of Adam McCormack provided a strong platform for this win with the full forward line in great form on the night.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Sean Óg Hynes, Peter Bane, Brian Reidy, Matthew Siode, John O'Reilly, Marc Eivers, Mark Flynn, Jack Kelly, Dillon Matthews, Trevor Keena, Cormac Hynes, Adam McCormack, Matthew Maslin, Jack Gillen, Pádraig McKenna. Subs: Cormac Darby, Peter Hynes, Eoin Kilduff, Brandon Heffernan, Daniel Chukwuemeka, William Adzangoa.

Under-10 Girls Blitz in Caulry ...

Our Under-10 girls squad made the journey to Caulry to attend their fourth blitz of the summer. The team played three matches against St. Joseph's, Caulry and Milltownpass.

The girls showed off their skills with mazy runs, including lots of solos, and great support play in each of the games. Our tackling and marking improved as the matches went on, and the girls showed great resolve and tenacity throughout. Thank you to all the parents and brothers and sisters who came out to support.

A special mention to Katie Matthews who has rejoined us following her recovery from a broken leg . She finished up the morning as one of our top scorers and we are delighted that her lengthy absence from football has not impacted her enthusiasm ! Welcome back Katie!

Mullingar Shamrocks:Katie Tully, Eabha Moran, Niamh Darcy, Shauna Russell, Róisin Nohilly, Katie Matthews, Grace Daly, Lucy Pierce, Molly Maguire, Holly Doyle, Gráinne Flood, Sarah Ford.

Congratulations ...

Congratulations to all our boys and girls on the Leaving Cert results. Hopefully the envelope included enough points to provide the entry into the chosen career. Regardless of the results all those who endured the Leaving Cert can console themselves with the thought that they have completed the toughest examination they will ever experience.  Good luck with the future careers in college or in the world of work ...

We are Westmeath: It Matters More ... Episode 6

Conor McKenna has once again come up with the goods as David O'Shaughnessy recalls the Westmeath Leinster title winning performance in 2004, Jenny Rodgers shows that she has attended the same school of interview trainees as Jim Gavin as she discusses Milltown's achievement in winning the League title and Barry Kelly speaks of the sometimes surreal experience of refereeing the All-Ireland Hurling Final and recalls the day Kilkenny won the title by shooting only a single wide.

You can find it at https://soundcloud.com/user-117322367/episode-6-exclusive-interview-with-david-oshaughnessy-hurling-final-preview-with-barry-kelly

Westmeath Junior Football Championship: Mullingar Shamrocks 1-11 The Downs 0-14

Our interests in the 2018 junior championship was ended with this  draw against The Downs in Springfield  on Thursday night. The Downs pointed in the opening minute and established a lead that they maintained until the interval. Shamrocks equalising point scored by Patrick Fagan was a bit special in its creation. Ross Corroon's massive kick-out was fielded by Fagan who pointed. The Downs added a second point but this advantage was cancelled by a Gary Corroon pointed free. Patrick Fagan (0-2), Pádraig McKenna (0-2), and Shane Colleary also had first half points; two of these were the direct result of massive Ross Corroon restarts. Matt Gavin at centre-forward  and Shane Carroll were prominent in the scoring stakes for The Downs who finished the half ahead by the minimum (0-8 to 0-7).

Points from Gary Corroon and Patrick Fagan after the interval established a Shamrocks lead but The Downs responded and scored five points without a reply (0-13 to 0-9). With championship elimination on the line, Shamrocks staged a late great response that began when Shane Colleary blasted to the net from a tight angle (someone mentioned a goal against Wexford in the Leinster championship of 2004). James Grogan thundered forward and  created an opening for Patrick Fagan to score his fifth point of the evening and level the match (0-13 to 1-10). A great play by Billy Flynn earned a 40 metre 'must score' free for Shamrocks  and Ross Corroon (now free of his goalkeeping duties) kicked Shamrocks  ahead with the match drifting towards injury time. Unfortunately for Shamrocks,  Ciaran Nolan had the last say and his point from play secured the draw that was required  on the night for The Downs to qualify for the knock-out stages of the championship.   

Mullingar Shamrocks:  Ross Corroon (0-1), Eamonn Breslin, Mark Butler, Cormac Murphy; Pearse Corroon, James Grogan, Marc Eivers; Conor Twomey and Patrick Fagan (0-5); Nathan Smyth [Ryan Blundell], Gary Corroon (0-2) [Adam Smyth], Neil Hannigan [Davy Coyne];  Pádraig McKenna (0-2), Shane Colleary (1-1), Billy Flynn.

Under-12 Go-Games League

We had two great sporting games of football in Springfield on Wednesday when we played Milltownpass and Garrycastle in the Under-12 League with Mullingar Shamrocks edging to victory in both games . We also had a great match in the Under-14 Championship against St Mary's, Rochfortbridge and we again were at the right side of the scoreline by a narrow margin.  

Under-10 Blitz in Celbridge

Well done to the Mullingar Shamrocks Under-10 panel who travelled to Celbridge this morning to take part in the host club's Under-10 tournament. The Shamrocks boys fared very well in four matches against Lucan Sarsfields, Leixlip, Crossmaglen Rangers and St Loman's. Credit to all the players who represented the club so well and thanks to their mentors who travelled, Seán Corroon, Greg Gavin and Derek Sheerin. A word of thanks too to the many parents who travelled to support. Thanks All.

Fixtures

Monday 20^th August.

Under 11 Go Games League away to Lilliput Gaels in Castletown-Geo at 7pm.

Under 16 Championship, Division 1, quarter-final: Mullingar Shamrocks v St. Loman's at 7pm.

Tuesday 21^st August.

Under 8 Go Games in Cusack Park from 5.45pm to 6.45pm.

Participating Clubs: Mullingar Shamrocks, St. Lomans, The Downs, Coralstown/Kinnegad, Shandonagh, Milltownpass, Kilbeggan Shamrocks and St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge.

Wednesday 22^nd August.

Minor Championship, Division 2 semi-final away to Garrycastle at 7pm.

Saturday August 25^th.

Under 8 Go Games Blitz hosted by St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge from 10.45am to 12.30pm.

Participating Clubs: St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge, Mullingar Shamrocks, Killucan and Castletown-Finea/Coole-Whitehall.

Tweet

Most Read Stories