Kilmessan foiled despite a brave performance

WHEN Stephen Clynch strode forward to slot over a point late in normal time during the All-Ireland Club IHC semi-final on Sunday it looked like Kilmessan"s trip into the west would end with a memorable win. Their supporters were poised to celebrate one of the greatest victories in the history of a club accustomed to the glory days. Instead they were ambushed by a late, late equaliser from Cappataggle, joy snatched at the death. Extra-time was called for and it was then that it all unravelled for the Meath champions. It was that kind of occasion, that kind of game at the home of the Padraig Pearse GAA club located in Co Roscommon close to the Galway border. Just when it seemed it was panning out one way, something would happen and the balance would shift. By the time referee James McGrath blew the final whistle and brought the curtain down on a thrilling, incident-packed encounter Cappataggle were in front - just. It was the roller-coaster nature of this fascinating tie that held the attention of more than 2,000 paying customers right until the end. At no stage did either side lead by more than four points with the advantage changing a number of times. There were so many incidents, so much end-to-end action, that it is doubtful that anybody left the ground early. How this game panned out for Clynch was a reflection on how the afternoon unfolded for his team. For most of the game Clynch was consistency personified and it would have been fitting if he had topped his performance with the winning point. He performed with an assurance we have become accustomed to this past year. It all went wrong for him however, when he was sent-off five minutes into the second-half of extra-time after he picked up second yellow card following an incident in the Kilmessan goalmouth. In the first-half of normal time Clynch had needlessly picked up a yellow card for dissent. When Kilmessan goalkeeper Mark Brennan shipped a heavy tackle midway through the second-half of extra-time Clynch was first to react, clearly annoyed by the tackle. He saw red for his intervention while Cappataggle"s Emmet Malone was booked for the initial offence. It was sad way for Clynch to finish a brilliant campaign. Clynch had hardly left the pitch when Cappataggle"s Daniel Loughnane powered through the middle of the Kilmessan defence and shot goalwards. Brennan did well to save, but with Mark Reilly, they hesitated for a crucial moment seemingly unsure which of them should clear. The ball broke to substitute David Byrnes who slotted home from a yard out. Soon after Alan Dolan split the posts from a free to put two points between the sides. That left Cappataggle celebrating at the end as if they had won the All-Ireland title itself. Cappataggle"s opening goal came just 18 minutes into the game when Galway player Damien Joyce hit a rocket to the net from a 20-metre free. That helped to give his side a 1-6 to 0-6 lead at the break. Having played against the considerable wind in the opening half Kilmessan had reason to be hopeful. They just couldn"t build up a big enough lead in the second-half to secure the cherished victory. Apart from Clynch"s dismissal, there were other reasons why Kilmessan didn"t win out. Midway through the second-half the Meath side enjoyed a purple patch. They created a number of good opportunities without managing to produce a score. Martin Horan did well to get himself into a scoring position only for his shot to fall short. A minute later Joey Keena watched as his shot sailed wide from a scoreable position and Ger O"Neill had a similar experience immediately afterwards. Even Nicky Horan had a rare attack of the jitters soon after when he spurned a chance to add to his point-tally when he registered a wide from a free. All afternoon Horan had taken frees with impressive accuracy, arrowing over from a variety of angles and distances. Eight of his nine points came from frees, the other from a firmly struck '65." His miss was a true exception to the rule in what was a first-class exhibition of how to translate frees into scores. In the closing seconds of extra-time Horan tried for a goal from a 20 metre free. His powerful shot was blocked and the ball cleared. That was Kilmessan"s last chance of redemption. For a spell during the second-half Horan was also prominent from play and when he was in the thick of the action Kilmessan carried a significant threat in the forward division. All too often they lacked a killer punch up front. It was also a significant feature of the game that the Meath side failed to carve out a clear-cut goal opportunity from play, while their opponents netted twice and could have got one or two more. Soon after the start Brennan produced a great save from Michael Broderick. The nearest Kilmessan came to making the net dance was just before the interval. Ger O"Neill, Peter Reynolds and Christopher Curtis were involved in creating an opening for Malcolm Doyle who shot narrowly wide. Anton O"Neill had the ball in the net later on, but his 'goal" was ruled out. Joey Keena was placed at full-forward at the start and moved outfield later on and he capped a busy outing with two fine points from play. Ger O"Neill, who got better as the game progressed, registered three points and also skilfully created an opening for a Paul Donnelly point in extra-time. Donnelly opted for the point although Doyle was unmarked in front of goals and would surely have netted. For much of the second-half Kilmessan had Donnelly and Anton O"Neill in the forward line. Two great defenders of former times pressed into the role of sharpshooters. At times Kilmessan"s discipline let them down especially when they conceded frees which were invariably punished by Cappataggle"s sharpshooter Dolan who finished with eight points (seven frees). Cappataggle conjured up some rousing scores over the 80 minutes with Stephen Creaven notching up a memorable point from a long-range sideline cut late in the first-half. Dolan"s last-gasp, equalising point from play at the end of normal time was also a fine effort. Despite all their opponents good work, Kilmessan looked to have won it when Clynch pointed brilliantly late in normal time. Then Dolan equalised with his point that denied Kilmessan the win that looked to be theirs for long stretches of a truly thrilling contest. Kilmessan - M Brennan; P McGovern, D Donnelly, C Keena; P Farrell, S Clynch (0-1), M Reilly; M Horan, P Reynolds; C Curtis, N Horan (0-9), G O"Neill (0-3); M Doyle, J Keena (0-2), K Keena. Subs - A O"Neill (0-1) for Curtis, K Reilly for Reynolds, P Donnelly (0-1) for K Keena, D Reilly for P Donnelly, R Donnelly for C Keena. Cappataggle - K Finn; J Shaughnessy, T Broderick, M McLoughlin; G Broderick, M Broderick, S Creaven (0-1); D Kenny, P Dolan; D Loughnane, D Joyce (1-0), C Cormican (0-1); A Dolan (0-10), M Broderick, P Egan. Sub - E Malone for Egan, D Byrnes (1-0) for Cormican. Referee - James McGrath (Westmeath).