Facile victory for Navan

ONE of the most unattractive sights in football is watching one team hand out a right old trouncing to their opponents leaving the spectators to endure a contest totally devoid of drama or excitement. It was that kind of occasion at a bitterly cold Pairc Tailteann on Sunday as Navan O"Mahonys toyed with Castledaly in a Leinster Club SFC quarter-final that was as competitive as a game of golf between Tiger Woods and a 10-handicapper. Maybe O"Mahonys were simply too hot to handle although a truer test of their mettle will come when they take on Kilmacud Crokes in the next round on Sunday 23rd November. That will be a lot closer. This was a humiliation for the Westmeath side who looked like they were just going through the motions as O"Mahonys took an early stranglehold and powered on from there. Castledaly only scored one of their four points from play in what was a desultory display. At times the game resembled a training session. Castledaly, a small rural club near Moate, won their first Westmeath SFC title a few weeks ago and they had a good reason to celebrate that achievement. They lost two games in the early stages of their championship campaign however, with other results falling their way, they made it to the knock-out stages before going on to claim the big prize. On this evidence, that was the summit of their ambition. It was obvious that they didn"t have the Leinster Club title in their sights as they started this game in second gear and slipped back down as the afternoon unfolded. O"Mahonys obviously benefited from their lengthy, unscheduled rest as they looked fresh and alert and they will present plenty of problems for the Dublin champions. There was much to appreciate about the O"Mahonys performance. They passed the ball around with great accuracy and skill, the forwards were in constant motion, always looking for space and openings and they found plenty to exploit in this one-sided contest. When they get their game going the reigning Keegan Cup winners are poetry in motion and very difficult to stop. Their play is all about movement and finding the right angles and when there is a player in the side like Stephen Bray who can pick out a pass with laser-like accuracy they pose a threat for the meanest of defences. O"Mahonys netted only once in this game from Kevin Reilly in the opening half. They could and should have bagged at least three more goals as they carved open their opponents at regular intervals. The goal was a little special. It arrived on the stroke of half-time when Paddy Smyth quickly took a free about 40 metres out. He found Reilly who embarked on a run, cut in from the right and unleashed an exocet, the ball rocketing low to the net. That helped O"Mahonys go in at the break with a 1-7 to 0-3 lead. Even before half-time, people were heading for the exit, convinced they had already seen the winners and eager to get away from the biting cold. David Bray had contributed three points to his team"s interval lead and he tagged on the same amount in the second-half in another incisive display. Henry Finnegan was busy as ever and he capped his industrious display with four points Looking ahead to their next day out, O"Mahonys will be encouraged by the fact that eight players got on the scoresheet including five of the starting six forwards. Shane McKeigue continued his comeback from injury by getting the nod to start instead of Lee Russell who is set to depart for South Africa to help construct houses as part of a charity project. One thing that may well concern O"Mahonys is the failure to take full advantage of the clear-cut goal opportunities they created. Mark Ward strode forward to fire over a point in the opening minutes. He must be wondering how he didn"t find the net in the closing stages of the first-half. His chance was created by one of the many fast-flowing moves the Meath champions necklaced together. Cormac McGuinness, Sean Keating, Barry Regan, Stephen Mac Gabhann, Stephen O"Toole and David Bray all processed the ball forward leaving Ward one-on-one with the Castledaly goalkeeper. The big midfielder blasted wide. He wasn"t the only one to miss good goal chances. Smyth had a great opportunity early in the second-half, but his shot took a deflection and went wide. Against better opposition those misses could have proved costly. O"Mahonys goalkeeper Mark Brennan was a virtual spectator although he did well to make a save after a shot from a Castledaly player had rebounded off the bar and was deflected back towards the goals. MJ McLoughlin got two points from Castledaly from frees with Brendan Kelly getting their only score from play in the opening half. There was little else to say about Castledaly"s display as O"Mahonys marched to the kind of convincing, lop-sided victory. Bigger challenges await. SCORERS Navan O"Mahonys - D Bray 0-6, two frees; H Finnegan 0-4, one free; K Reilly 1-0; S Keating 0-2, M Ward 0-2; S Bray 0-1; S McKeigue 0-1; C McGuinness 0-1, '45". Castledaly - M J Fitzgerald 0-2, two free; M Duffy 0-1, free; B Kelly 0-1. THE TEAMS Navan O"Mahonys - M Brennan; D Moran, K Reilly, N McKeigue; S O"Toole, C McGuinness, S MacGabhann; M Ward, B Regan; S McKeigue, S Bray, H Finnegan; D Bray, P Smyth, S Keating. Subs - I Matthews for N McKeigue 42 minutes; G O"Brien for Smyth 48m; N Dunne for Regan 47m; D Hosie for S McKeigue 50m; S Crosby for McGuinness 55m. Castledaly - J Kinihan; M Gavin, N O"Neill, C Henson; E Kelly, D Heavin, S Kavanagh; N Duffy, G Duffy; A Fitzgerald, M J McLoughlin, P Kelly; M Duffy, J Galvin, B Kelly. Subs - R Casey for Fitzgerald 30 minutes; T Warburton for O"Neill 39m; A Kelly for M Duffy 48m; A Kelly for Kavanagh 54m. REFEREE Maurice Deegan (Laois).