Charlestown stumble into final

Charlestown stumble into final


Semi-Final
Charlestown 3-15
Gortletteragh 1-13

SeΡn Rice
Castlebar

ALREADY spinning from a spate of injuries, Charlestown prepare for Sunday’s Connacht Intermediate final with doubts hanging over the fitness of two further key players, following their 8-point win over Gortletteragh on Sunday.
Flattered somewhat by the margin of victory over the Leitrim champions, the Mayo men line out for the third Sunday in a row with the toll on their star players mounting, and eating into their ability to maintain the winning momentum.
The gap in style between them and Gortletteragh was obvious in the first half on Sunday at MacHale Park after which Charlestown led by seven points.
But the Leitrim men more than matched them in heart and spirit after the break as they gradually eroded that lead, and then shocked the favourites with a goal three minutes from the end leaving only two points between them.
In a second half that developed in excitement as Gortletteragh’s star Cathal McCrann inspired the fight-back, Charlestown hit back with two goals in the dying seconds that did no justice to the courage shown by the losers.
And courage they needed at half-time after being subjected to a lesson in finesse and team-work by Charlestown that frequently opened up the Gortletteragh defence.
After Niall Woods levelled Anthony Mulligan’s opening point in the second minute, the Leitrim side did not score again for sixteen minutes during which Richard Haran, Paul Ward (2), Mark Caffrey and Mulligan built up a lead of five points for the winners.
As Darragh McMeel, the McLoughlin brothers Gerard and Enda, and the Higgins brothers Aidan and Dermot closed off most of the avenues to their goal, Gortletteragh were left with only the crumbs, which in fairness they used reasonably well.
After Kevin McGrath got their second point in the 18th minute, McCrann and Darren Duignan added two further points which matched a treble from Charlestown’s Ollie Conway, Gareth O’Donnell and Paul Ward.
But three minutes before half-time, Anthony Mulligan, again in regal form at full-forward, was taken down in the square and Haran assuredly tucked the ball into the corner of the net from the penalty spot.
Leading by 1-9 to 0-5 at the interval, it seemed only a matter of time before Charlestown were out of sight. But, big and strong, Gortletteragh commenced to dig in. And centre-forward McCrann was at the heart of their fightback.
It could have been all over for them in the 39th minute when Joe Owens with a clear opening curled a shot wide having been set up by Mulligan. But there were still six between them after Tom Parsons, whose fielding was once more impressive, reeled in Charlestown’s eleventh point.
As McCrann imposed himself on the game, accounting for 1-8 of Gortletteragh¹s total, and inspiring James Campbell, Niall Woods, Darren Duignan and Cathal Quinn, Charlestown were outscored in the following nine minutes by four points to one.
Mulligan and Haran kept them in front from frees, and they seemed to have warded off the best that the Leitrim men could produce when McCrann popped up to punch home a stunning goal leaving just a precarious two between them . . . and the momentum with the visitors.
It came after their wing-back Terry Kellegher was sent off for a double yellow card offence . . . Charlestown having already lost their excellent midfielder Enda Casey and corner back Enda McLoughlin through injury.
The goal was also a reprimand to Charlestown for a slackening of their performance in the second half. And even the brilliance of Mulligan in engineering a fine response with Damien Ward’s blistering goal can’t fully erase the folly of believing it was all over at half-time.
Ollie Conway put the final seal on the game seconds from the end when he polished off a sweet cross from Joe Owens by fisting the ball to the net.

Charlestown
D Sloyan; G McLoughlin; D McMeel E McLoughlin; A Higgins, G O’Donnell (0-1), D Higgins; T Parsons (0-1), E Casey; R Haran (1-1), M Caffrey (0-1), P Ward (0-3); J Owens (0-1), A Mulligan (0-3), O Conway (1-1).
Subs used: D Tiernan for Caffrey; C Maye (0-1) for Casey (inj); S Walsh for E McLoughlin (inj); D Ward (1-0) for S Walsh.

Gortletteragh
C Clarke; N Duffy, C Egan, S Prunty; T Kelleher, J Campbell; C Duffy (0-1); M Duignan, N Woods (0-1); E Reynolds, C McCrann (1-8), G Campbell (0-1); C Quinn, D Duignan (0-1), K McGrath (0-1).
Subs used: P McGarry for M Duignan; J Reynolds for C Duffy; S Egan for G Campbell.

Referee: S Ó hEithir (Galway)