Heartbreaking Taghmon exit
Scrambled goal in added time crushes provincial dream
NA FIANNA (MEATH) TAGHMON-CAMROSS 3-12 2-13
SHANE WALSH pulled home in a goalmouth scramble right at the death to leave Taghmon-Camross heartbroken in the AIB Leinster Club Junior hurling championship semi-final in Trim on Saturday.
The Na Fianna substitute got the last connection when Barry Slevin’s longrange free dropped inside the ’20 and pinged around before being swept home with just five seconds of the three added minutes remaining.
It was a crushing blow for the Wexford club, who had been down to 14 men since Luke Sinnott was sent-off in the 48th minute. They had led by three points heading into the final minute of normal time, but two Slevin frees had left the minimum between the teams.
It was pretty obvious that it was last chance saloon for Na Fianna when they won a free just inside their own ‘45 with just seconds remaining. Slevin gave it all he had in a bid to level the game, and it fell short for Walsh to flash home.
Taghmon-Camross had struggled to work their way into a decent lead with the breeze in the first-half. The pace of the game was borderline frantic from the first whistle, and it led to an entertaining contest that sometimes lacked a little composure.
It was okay initially for the New Ross District club as Barry O’Gorman, Ian Carty (two) and Stephen O’Gorman eased them into a 0-4 to nil lead.
The Meath side chipped away as the game moved into the second quarter, with Jack Dunne sharp when denying Seán Martin.
Three minutes later the Enfield club did have the ball in the net, with Ronan Byrne supplying the finish after being picked out by Mark Slevin.
The goal shocked Taghmon-Camross to life and they responded in kind when Stephen O’Gorman caught Sinnott’s pass and drilled to the net.
A couple of O’Gorman points helped Taghmon-Camross into a game-high four-point lead (1-8 to 1-4), but there was another twist to come as Byrne got away for his second goal in the 27th minute.
With their wind advantage nearly up, things could have got even worse for Taghmon-Camross when Peter Slevin’s shot beat Dunne. However, Alan Nolan got back to sweep it off the line, and late points by Barry O’Gorman and Darren Carty gave the visitors a 1-10 to 2-5 interval lead.
While it seemed like advantage Na Fianna at the break, they still had to prove they could use the wind to their benefit and show an ability to pick off long-range scores.
Their struggle to do just that, particularly in the half-forward line, allowed Taghmon-Camross to control the second-half.
The hosts were also indebted to goalkeeper Eoin Reilly, who made three critical saves after the break. Having sustained a nasty eye injury in the previous round, the Na Fianna netminder wasn’t expected to play, but his inclusion was absolutely critical in the end.
One of those saves came in the 31st minute from Stephen O’Gorman, but Darren Carty did pop over a point soon after to put his side three up. The hosts responded with three points in a row, including a quick pair from Seán Martin, to tie the game (1-11 to 2-8).
It continued to be nip and tuck, with the game still level at the start of the final quarter. Two more saves from Reilly kept Taghmon-Camross at bay, and they were left even more frustrated when Sinnott received a straight red for an incident after the referee’s whistle had gone following a goalmouth scramble.
Still, they refused to buckle and actually looked the better team in the final quarter. Stephen O’Gorman broke through three tackles to fire home their second goal in the 54th minute to put his club 2-13 to 2-10 ahead.
The Wexford men struck four wides in a row with the game at their mercy. Barry Slevin broke a 14-minute scoreless spell for his side in the 59th minute and soon added another to leave just a point between the teams.
Taghmon-Camross were one clearance away from a Leinster final spot against Dunnamaggin from Kilkenny but it wasn’t to be, as when Slevin’s teasing ball in ricocheted around the goalmouth, Walsh was on hand to whip it low to the net and crush the visitors’ dreams at the death.
Taghmon-Camross: Jack Dunne; Tomás Banville, Alan Nolan, Mark O’Gorman; Shane Doyle, Ian Carty (0-2, 1 free), Stephen Stafford; Barry O’Gorman (0-3), Darren Carty (0-2); Chris Cullen (0-2 frees), Michael O’Gorman (0-1), Stephen O’Keeffe; Cathal Doyle, Stephen O’Gorman (2-3), Luke Sinnott. Subs. - T.J. Codd for O’Keeffe (52), Shane Lacey for M. O’Gorman (58), Pierce Doyle for C. Doyle (60+3).
Na Fianna: Eoin Reilly; Seán Coffey, Evan Mullally, Stephen Slevin; Noel O’Sullivan, Daniel Gleeson, Diarmuid Bailey; Ethan Devine (0-1), Barry Slevin (0-7, 4 frees, 2 ’65s); Cian Slattery, Peter Slevin, Jonathan McCloskey; Ronan Byrne (2-0), Mark Slevin (0-2), Seán Martin (0-2). Subs. - Kean Flynn for McCloskey (37), Shane Walsh (1-0) for Martin, inj. (54).
Referee: Chris Mooney (Dublin).