Leinster Club SFC first round: St Loman’s, Mullingar (Westmeath) 2-17 Dunshaughlin (Meath) 2-4
St Loman’s demolished Dunshaughlin by 13 points in the opening round of the Leinster club senior football championship as the impressive Westmeath champions made light work of their Meath counterparts at Páirc Tailteann.
The Lake County side dominated proceedings from the throw-in until the final whistle in Navan. They led 1-9 to 1-1 at the interval and another goal early in the second half sent them on their way to a provincial quarter-final against Wexford’s Castletown.
The Mullingar outfit, who have won four of the last five Westmeath senior titles, are chasing a maiden Leinster crown. They have only appeared in the final on one previous occasion, coming up short against Moorefield in 2017, but the manner of this display indicates a team on a mission.
Dunshaughlin entered the encounter on the back of winning a first Meath SFC in 22 years, but they never looked like establishing a platform here to build a run in the provincial campaign. Two clubs with very different mindsets, and it showed.
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The defeat maintains Meath’s miserable record in the Leinster club championship – no team from the county has won this provincial title since Dunshaughlin’s triumph in 2002.
Indeed, no Meath club has even appeared in the final since Skryne in 2004. By only managing to register six scores in this fixture, it again puts the spotlight on the standard of club football in the county.
Their opponents were faster, slicker, hungrier. St Loman’s grabbed control of the game in the opening exchanges and led 0-5 to no score after only 13 minutes.
Fola Ayorinde caused the Dunshaughlin full-back line huge problems early on, while the visitors erected a blue wall in the middle of the field.
Paddy Dowdall’s side were completely dominant at midfield where John Heslin made some fine fetches, penning Dunshaughlin in their own half of the field. Dunshaughlin really struggled on their own kickouts, getting turned over time and time again.
“We had done our analysis on Dunshaughlin and it was probably an area we thought we could get at them, in fairness it probably worked out that way today. I think we had 15 or 16 turnovers on their kickout,” said Dowdall.
“I have been in the same boat as Dunshaughlin, when you haven’t won in a long time, the celebrations and all that, coming down off that high of not winning in so long, sometimes it’s very hard to prepare for the next game.”
Dunshaughlin finally opened their account courtesy of a Mathew Costello free on the quarter hour mark but St Loman’s responded with two quickfire points. The influential Sam McCartan popped over three of his side’s opening seven points and from early on Dunshaughlin were struggling to plug leaks in most areas of the pitch.
Aaron Murphy poked home a fortuitous goal in the 23rd minute after a Costello shot was initially blocked on the line to reduce the gap to four but St Loman’s responded with 1-2 before the break.
Ayorinde scored 1-1 of that tally, his goal was a brilliant piece of individual skill, strength and direct running before unleashing a right-footed rocket beyond Tim O’Sullivan. Ayorinde popped over a left-footed point moments later.
“Fola came really focused today, he has been like that for the last few months,” added Dowdall. “His athleticism and football really showed there today, when he’s on his game he is very hard to mark, he’s a big man.”
Danny McCartan put the result beyond doubt nine minutes after the restart, taking a clever pass from his brother, Sam, to net his side’s second goal, 2-9 to 1-2.
Jared Rushe neatly finished a goal chance for Dunshaughlin soon after but the contest was up at that stage. Heslin showed his class in the last quarter of the match by sending over five points.
The Westmeath champions must now prepare for a quarter-final against Castletown but arrangements around that fixture were generating debate in the tunnel at Páirc Tailteann on Sunday.
With Castletown fixed to play Moorefield in the Leinster junior club hurling championship next Saturday, the senior football quarter-final is to be played midweek with exact details still to be finalised.
“It’s not ideal. We are obviously pushing for it to be played at the weekend but we just have to see,” said Dowdall.
Either way, this performance felt like a clear statement of their ambitions over the coming weeks – a team hellbent on mining a first ever Leinster club title.
“This group, we set our expectations very high and we strive to meet them every year,” added Dowdall.
“When we don’t meet them, we’re not happy, but all we can focus on at the moment is one game, we can only focus on the Castletown game.”
But chances are, it won’t be their last one in this Leinster campaign.
ST LOMAN’S, MULLINGAR: Jason Daly; Darragh O’Keeffe, Jack Geoghegan (0-1), Oisín Hogan; Eoghan Hogan, David Whelan, Sam McCartan (0-3, 1 45); John Heslin (0-5, 2f, 1m), Seán Flanagan (0-2); Kelvin Reilly, Ronan O’Toole (0-1), Rory Sheahan; Danny McCartan (1-3), Fola Ayorinde (1-2), Shane Dempsey. Subs: TJ Cox for Dempsey (ht); Kevin Regan for Shehan (43 mins); Enda Gaffney for Hogan (45 mins); Peter Foy for Ayorinde (54 mins); Conor O’Donoghue for Whelan (56 mins).
DUNSHAUGHLIN: Tim O’Sullivan; Niall Byrne, Jared Rushe (1-0), Adam Kealy; David Fildes, Darryll McKenna, Ciarán McCarrick (0-2); Charlie O’Connor, Conor Gray; Conor Duke, Ruairí Kinsella, Ben Duggan; Aaron Murphy (1-1), Mathew Costello (0-1, 1f), Luke Mitchell. Subs: Fursey Blake for McKenna (22 mins); John McDonagh for Kinsella (30 mins); Fiach Hartigan for Fildes (ht); Neil Byrne for Duggan (44 mins); Tadhg O Dushlaine for Byrne (63 mins).
Referee: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow).
