Defeat for the Wicklow U-21 side away to Leitrim
Wicklow lose to Leitrim but team enjoyed positive spells
THREE goals in five minutes undid any hope Wicklow had of victory in the opening round of the under-21 Hastings Cup in Cloone, Leitrim, on Monday.
Johnny Magee’s team were trailing by just three points 21 minutes into the contest when Leitrim struck for their first goal and two more majors in the next five minutes put an end to this contest as Leitrim convincingly won in the end.
Leitrim appeared far more advanced in their preparations, having playing Roscommon on Saturday and a number of challenge games before Christmas and it was their match sharpness that proved the differences during the first half when the game was close.
Wicklow looked good in attack when Gary Allen, Mikey O’Connor, Conor Ryan and Cathal McHugh all caused Leitrim’s defence problems on limited possession but it was from midfield back where Wicklow struggled to make an impact.
Leitrim’s attack punched a lot of holes in the Wicklow defence who struggled to get the ball out of the danger area but Chris O’Brien and Shane Lohan fought a lonely battle.
Keith Beirne opened the scoring with a 40 yard free for Leitrim on 50 seconds, quickly followed by a Jack Heslin point on the run for the home team.
Leitrim were dominating but missed some good chances.
Wicklow’s first real attack saw Jack Bellamy played a nice onetwo down the wing before swinging over a lovely point on six minutes.
Cathal McHugh had a bad wide for the Garden County men with a team-mate free in front of goal but Mikey O’Connor converted a free to tie the scores on nine minutes.
Leitrim should have goaled but a great block from Sean Gilligan saw him block Jack Heslin’s goalbound shot out for a fifty that was deflected wide but Leitrim regained the lead when Dean McGovern burst through the middle to fire over a good point on 12 minutes.
Wicklow hit back with another O’Connor free after a foul on Conor Ryan, the ball hitting the post on its way over but that was as good as it got for Wicklow as Jack Heslin forced a brilliant save from Tom McGurk.
Points from Heslin, Beirne and McGovern gave Leitrim a three point advantage but the lead was exploded in a five minute spell, started when Leitrim pounced on a poor Wicklow kickout, working the ball into Keith Beirne who finished clinically for the game’s first goal.
Gary Allen responded with a huge score from distance but when Wicklow keeper McGurk spilled a high shot, Leitrim wingback Oisin Madden pounced to force the ball home from close range on 24 minutes.
Conor Gaffney added a point before his poor shot was brilliantly fisted to the net by Darragh Rooney from close range and despite a late O’Connor free, Leitrim led 3-7 to 0-5 at the halftime break.
Wicklow came out with more intent after the break and Gary Allen put over a free after less than a minute before a cross from the lively Mikey O’Connor saw Allen bring off a good catch before his low precise finish found the corner of the net.
Conor Gaffney steadied the Leitrim shop with a lovely point after a good move but Cathal McHugh cancelled it out with a fine point on nine minutes.
But any hope of a Wicklow fightback was ended with three Keith Beirne points, two from frees, in a four minute spell and although Wicklow hit back with points from Allen and Martin Shanahan, the game was winding down to its inevitable conclusion.
Beirne put over another free, Mark Plunkett scored a brilliant point from the left hand corner and Allen finished off Wicklow’s scoring with a free before substitute Peter Reynolds put over the last score of the encounter in added time.
Scorers - Leitrim: Keith Beirne 1-6, 4f; Darragh Rooney and Oisin Madden 1-0 each; Dean McGovern, Jack Heslin and Conor Gaffney 0-2 each; Peter Reynolds and Mark Plunkett 0-1 each
Wicklow: Gary Allen 1-4, 1f; Mikey O’Connor 0-3, 2f; Jack Bellamy, Cathal McHugh & Martin Shanahan 0-1 each
Leitrim: Darren Maxwell, Philip Dolan, David Mulvey, Fergal Rooney, Oisin Madden, Donal Feely, David Bruen, Keith Keegan, Dean McGovern, Jack Heslin, Conor Gaffney, Francis Flynn, Luke Murphy, Keith Beirne, Darragh Rooney. Subs: Conor Cullen for Murphy (43), Peter Reynolds for Flynn (50), Donal McCabe for Bruen (53), Mark Plunkett for Keegan (55)
Wicklow: Tom McGurk, Sean Gilligan, Shane Lohan, Caolann O’Gorman, Cian Kinsella, Chris O’Brien, Martin Cullen, Damien Hanlon, Martin Shanahan, Padraig Byrne, Gary Allen, Jack Bellamy, Cathal McHugh, Mikey O’Connor, Conor Ryan. Subs: Cathal Kellegher and Tom Meagher for Hanlon and Kinsella (HT), Cian McElligott for O’Gorman (37), Tom Phelan for Gilligan (41), Ross Davis for Ryan (45), Jack McCall for Cullen (47), Hugh Walsh for Byrne (49).
Referee: Aidan Dowler (Longford)