AIB Leinster Club SFC First Round

St Loman’s, Mullingar 2-17 Dunshaughlin 2-4

By Paul Keane at Páirc Tailteann

Fola Ayorinde and Danny McCartan struck the goals as St Loman’s underlined their AIB Leinster club SFC title credentials with a five-star display in Navan.

This was a Round 1 encounter so the Mullingar men still have three huge hurdles to navigate to get their hands on silverware but they suggested with this performance that they have the focus and quality to go far.

Paddy Dowdall’s free-wheeling Loman’s, who have claimed four of the last five Westmeath titles, sewed up victory, and a quarter-final date with Castletown of Wexford, long before full-time.

The Ayorinde and McCartan goals were both well taken and obvious highlights of the 13-point win but it was a terrific team performance overall.

County star John Heslin didn’t score his first point until the final quarter but finished with five while Dunshaughlin were restricted to just six scores in perfect conditions.

Loman’s led by eight points at half-time and made sure that the poor record of Meath teams in the Leinster club SFC wouldn’t be improved. Dunshaughlin, ironically, remain the last club to win this competition in 2002 while Skryne are the last Meath team to reach a final, 20 years ago.

A fortnight after beating Wolfe Tones to claim their first Meath SFC title since that 2002 season, Dunshaughlin dreamed of another provincial odyssey.

Current manager Richie Kealy, an All-Ireland winner with Meath in 1999, was a player on that 2002 Dunshaughlin team but spent the first-half wincing here.

The hosts’ gameplan came badly unstuck, partly because of their own failings and partly because of the ultra intensity of a Loman’s side that looked fully focused and highly tuned.

Dunshaughlin were badly punished on their own kick-outs for starters and when they did get their hands on the O’Neills they were hounded out of possession time and again.

As for Dunshaughlin’s attacks, those were fleeting and suffered from a lack of urgency and craft while Loman’s regularly dropped in the likes of Kelvin Reilly and David Whelan as sweepers.

It all added up to a powerful first-half for Loman’s who deservedly led by 1-9 to 1-1.

Ayorinde, part of a two-man inside forward line for Loman’s next to Shane Dempsey, struck 1-2 in the opening half hour and gave an indication early on that he meant business.

His first point in the seventh minute was a peach as he cut through the Dunshaughlin defence and blasted just over.

He was shooting off his ‘weaker’ left foot on that occasion and struck another off his left later in the half.

In between, in the 28th minute, he showed just how devastating he can be when using his preferred right foot, again scything through the Dunshaughlin defence and this time blasting to the net.

The McCartan brothers, Sam and Danny, were influential too, clipping 0-5 between them in the first-half, as the visiting side cut Kealy’s crew to ribbons.

If it wasn’t for Aaron Murphy’s 24th minute goal for Dunshaughlin, the game would have been up by the break.

There was a hint of fortune as Luke Mitchell collected a stray pass in the buildup and fed Mathew Costello whose shot from the right endline hit the far post, allowing Murphy to tap in.

Costello is Dunshaughlin’s key man and arguably Meath’s best player but endured a frustrating afternoon with St Loman’s number eight Jack Geoghegan by his side.

Dunshaughlin got a helping hand from defenders in the third quarter; Ciaran McCarrick sniping two points before playing in captain Jared Rushe for a 44th minute goal.

The goal only got it back to a seven-point game at 2-10 to 2-3 as Loman’s had already added their second goal when Danny McCartan was fed by Sam in the 40th minute.

Loman’s took off again in the final quarter with Heslin bursting into life and firing five points in a row to set the seal on a surprisingly comfortable win.

Scorers for St Loman’s, Mullingar: Danny McCartan 1-3, Fola Ayorinde 1-2, John Heslin 0-5 (2fs, 1m), Sam McCartan 0-3 (1 45), Sean Flanagan 0-2, Jack Geoghegan 0-1, Ronan O’Toole 0-1.

Scorers for Dunshaughlin: Aaron Murphy 1-1, Jared Rushe 1-0, Ciaran McCarrick 0-2, Mathew Costello 0-1 (1f).

St Loman’s, Mullingar: Jason Daly; Darragh O’Keefe, Jack Geoghegan, Oisin Hogan; Eoghan Hogan, David Whelan, Sam McCartan; John Heslin, Sean Flanagan; Kelvin Reilly, Ronan O’Toole, Rory Sheahan; Fola Ayorinde, Shane Dempsey, Danny McCartan.

Subs: TJ Cox for Dempsey h/t, Kevin Regan for Sheahan 44, Enda Gaffney for Oisin Hogan 45, Peter Foy for Ayorinde 54, Conor O’Donoghue for Whelan 55.

Dunshaughlin: Tim O’Sullivan; Niall Byrne, Jared Rushe, Adam Kealy; David Fildes, Daryll McKenna, Ciaran McCarrick; Charlie O’Connor, Conor Gray; Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella, Ben Duggan; Aaron Murphy, Mathew Costello, Luke Mitchell.

Subs: Fursey Blake for McKenna 22, John McDonagh for Ruairi Kinsella 30, Fiach Hartigan for Fildes h/t, Neil Byrne for Duggan 44, Tadhg O Dushlaine for Niall Byrne 63.

Referee: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow).