Westmeath battle back to beat Longford in the Leinster U-20 ‘B' competition

Westmeath . . . 2-15    Longford . . . 2-11  

Longford crashed out of the Leinster U-20 secondary competition as Westmeath came from behind to come out on top in the Andrew Corden Cup first round clash at Allen Park on Wednesday night.  

A poor year on all fronts is emerging unless the minors can produce another strong home performance to salvage a positive result against Meath this Thursday evening and qualify for the knockout stages of the premier Leinster minor championship.

The last Longford minor team to beat the Royals was in the first round of the 2022 edition where Meath came to Pearse Park as reigning Leinster and All-Ireland Champions. Though, an inspiring performance gave Longford a rare win over the football giants and allowed supporters to think there was a promising team on the cards. An unfortunate exit to Wicklow followed but opinion amongst supporters was that this was a team to watch.

Fast forward 3 years later and that Longford team has failed to win any of their 3 Leinster U-20 games despite avoiding the customary big hitters in Dublin, Kildare and Meath.

Longford once again squandered a half-time lead which was built up with the help of two super two pointers in open play through Paddy Mollaghan and Michael Flynn. Carey kicked three frees while Cormac Flynn notched a neat score as Longford were every bit the equal of their neighbouring rivals. 

Westmeath had an impressive first round win over Offaly but successive defeats to Meath and Dublin in a tough group saw them return to the B Competition where they reached the All-Ireland decider last season. They scored 6 in the opening period through 6 different scorers but trailed at the break 0-9 to 0-6.

The momentum shifted in their favour on the restart with each passing kick out and the breakdown. Westmeath backboned by the same midfield pairing which knocked Longford out of the Andrew Corden Cup last year, took over the battle in the second half. 

Captain Tadhg Baker fielded some great ball while his partner Shane Ormsby kicked 3 fine points. They were also helped by a hungrier middle 8 who were often quicker and in more numbers to the breaking ball than the home side. Westmeath dominated the territory and fired over the first 3 scores of the second half through Kealan Connell, Ronan Murray and Jack Duncan.

Michael Flynn reclaimed Longford’s three point lead, finishing the rebound to the net off a Matthew Carey shot. However, Longford did not take any momentum from the goal as Westmeath responded with a green flag soon after when Shane Corcoran scored after Longford netminder Darragh Egan stopped Jack Duncan’s initial effort.

The game was being played in Longford’s half now and Westmeath built on their goal to go 3 up through Ormsby, Murray and substitute Matthew Thornton points.

Longford fortuitously found themselves back in the contest when a free from Carey fell short to substitute Brian Mulvey. His attempt struck the crossbar, but Michael Flynn was quickest to react, ensuring the ball crossed the line for his second goal.

With just 10 minutes left to play, the score was tied once more. However, Westmeath swiftly answered Longford's goal for the second time with an impressive 1-3 without reply, highlighted by a goal from the impactful substitute Thornton.

Carey kicked over two consolation frees in the closing moments but Brian Noonan’s charges become the first Longford U-20 side to bow out without any win since the group format came in.

Longford have failed to reach a semi-final since the final edition of the previous U-21 championship in 2017 where 2-5 from current Dublin captain Con O’Callaghan saw the city crop through on their way to an All Ireland winning season. 

Since the shift in age grade to U20 the year after, Longford are yet to reach the penultimate stage of the provincial competition. Though they are just shaded in consecutive years by Westmeath in 2021 on penalties and Meath by a last gasp point in 2022.

Longford reached two Leinster U-21 finals in the noughties in 2003 and 2006 and those teams underpinned the senior side that got back to back promotions 2011 and 2012. While, the Longford teams who made it to the u21 deciders in 2011 and 2013 backboned the senior teams of the next 10 years which competed well in the league and went on a couple of terrific runs in the qualifiers.

Underage triumphs are not a clear indicator of senior success but recent performances in this grade evidently have not bode well for the senior team who are on their worst losing streak since the 1920s.

It is particularly disappointing that Longford's only recent success story, last year's Leinster minor championship winners, had just two players featured yesterday, both coming on as substitutes. 

In contrast, Longford's previous Leinster minor championship-winning team produced six starters for the U-21 finalists the following year.

Surely, this was the undisputable team to focus on for development, yet for reasons unknown, the majority of that talented squad were absent from this year's panel. 

While it was evident that Longford struggled physically in each of their three Leinster U20 encounters this season, it raises the question of how to effectively transition a strong minor team into a more competitive U-20 side in the future.

LONGFORD: Darragh Egan (Carrickedmond); Tom Kearney (St. Mary’s Granard), Conor Flynn (Clonguish), Colin Gilna (Abbeylara); Andrew Flynn (Clonguish), Jack Belton (Mostrim), Seán Egan (Carrickedmond); Ruairí O’Toole (Dromard), Jamie Dorr (Clonguish); Harry Kiernan (St. Mary’s Granard), Matthew Carey (0-5, 5f, Clonguish), Cormac McGann (Kenagh); Michael Flynn (2-3, 1f, 1 two-pointer, Clonguish), Paddy Mollaghan (0-2, 1 two-pointer, St. Brigid’s Killashee), Cormac Flynn (0-1, Clonguish). 

Subs:- Brian Mulvey (Carrickedmond) for C McGann (40 mins); Paddy Moran (Emmet Óg Killoe) for Cormac Flynn (40 mins); Daniel Galvin (Kenagh) for J Dorr (43 mins); Alan Mimnagh (Clonguish) for S Egan (50 mins); James Hagan (Clonguish) for P Mollaghan (55 mins).

WESTMEATH: Eoin Doran; Sean Dillon, Adam Keane, Oisín Shortall; Aodhan Curran, Billy Moffatt (0-1), Seanaí Bracken; Shane Ormsby (0-3), Tadhg Baker; Kealan Connell (0-2), Jack Duncan (0-3), Shane Corcoran (1-1); Ronan Murray (0-3), Finn Duffy (0-1), Ryan Kelly. 

Subs:- Matthew Thornton (1-1) for R Kelly, Peter Murphy for O Shortall, Taylor Slevin for F Duffy, Conor Callaghan for K Connell, Tiarnán O’Donovan for R Murray.

Referee: Eamonn O’Connor (Offaly).