Longford SFC: Colmcille master Mullinalaghta to reach the county final against Abbeylara

Colmcille . . . 0-11    Mullinalaghta St Columba’s . . . 1-6

Forced to play almost the entire final quarter of the game with 14 players following a black card for Enda Macken in the 48th minute, Colmcille refused to panic in showing a lot of character to eventually master Mullinalaghta in the Senior Football Championship semi-final at windswept Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Sunday last.  

A tremendous long range point from the influential Cathal Reilly (who popped up all over the pitch in putting in immense workrate) left the 2022 county champions in front by the minimum of margins (0-9 to 1-5) midway through the second half.
Ger Carberry’s side clinched a very hard earned victory thanks to late scores from Jack Macken and Paul McKeon (free) with the prominent pair clocking up 0-9 between them.
Guilty of kicking a total of 9 wides during the course of this scrappy encounter that was spoiled considerably by the difficult elements, St Columba’s made poor use of the extra man advantage.
The best they could manage in the closing stages was a score from Niall Woods in the 59th minute which came too late to salvage the situation.
The absence of the suspended duo James McGivney and Shane Mulligan proved to be a severe setback for Mullinalaghta as they failed to build on a well-taken goal from Jayson Matthews with just three minutes gone in the game that was littered with frees awarded by the referee Hugh O'Kane.
Colmcille recovered from this early blow to establish a slender 0-7 to 1-3 lead at the break and did enough in the second half on their way to earning a crack at Abbeylara in a fresh new county final pairing on Sunday 13 October.
Utilising Noel Farrell as a ‘fly’ keeper when Colmcille were down to 14 men for a ten-minute period was a shrewd move that paid off with St Columba’s failing to register a score when they had the numerical advantage.
Colmcille were generally extremely tight at the back with the impressive Declan Reilly the commander in chief in the heart of the defence but they were caught out for the goal as Jayson Matthews planted the ball in the corner of the net after receiving the perfect pass from Conor McElligott.
A point apiece from Emmet Brady, David McGivney and Gary Rogers were added to the Mullinalaghta tally but they were left to rue the kicking of four costly wides in the closing stages of the first half.
Colmcille were more economical in attack with Jack Macken (5) and Paul McKeon (2) accounting for the 7 points in the first half.
The first of the McKeon scores was a cracking long range strike in the 22nd minute while his brother Barry showed a touch of class when landing a real gem at the start of the second half.
Wides followed from Ruairi Harkin and the captain Barry and then Colmcille made a mistake in losing possession. This led directly to a point for St Columba’s with Jayson Matthews converting a free in the 37th minute following a foul on Aidan McElligott.
Soon after Cian Mackey created the space to fire over a quality equalising score before Cathal Reilly regained the lead for Colmcille which they subsequently never surrendered but a cause for concern is the injury that forced Barry McKeon to retire in the 41st minute.
The gallant losers ended up with 14 players on the pitch after Aidan McElligott was sent-off for a second yellow card with a couple of minutes gone in stoppage time and the final whistle was blown moments later to signal the demise of Mullinalaghta in the current Connolly Cup campaign.

COLMCILLE: Noel Farrell; Gerard Mulligan, Enda Macken, Conor Grant; Ruairi Harkin, Declan Reilly, Dylan McCabe; Vinny Hourican, Fergal Sheridan; Martin Mulligan, Jack Macken (0-6, 4 frees), Cathal McCabe; Cathal Reilly (0-1), Paul McKeon (0-3, 1 free), Barry McKeon (0-1).

Subs:- Shaun McKeon for B McKeon (injured, 41 mins); Eoin Hawkins for D McCabe (45 mins). 

MULLINALAGHTA ST COLUMBA’S: Patrick Rogers; Simon Cadam, Patrick Fox, James Rogers; Gary Rogers (0-1), Connor Leonard, Donal McElligott; Niall Woods (0-1), Aidan McElligott; Michael Cunningham, David McGivney (0-1), Cian Mackey (0-1); Emmet Brady (0-1), Conor McElligott, Jayson Matthews (1-1, 1 free).

Subs:- Cian McElligott for Conor McElligott (40 mins); Aron Earley for J Rogers (49 mins).

Referee: Hugh O’Kane (Young Grattans).