Wayward Oldcastle exit

Oldcastle kicked away their chance of a Leinster Club IFC semi-final place when they were tamed at Millbrook on Sunday by a very street-wise Maynooth team from Kildare. Steady and slow was the Maynooth way, especially in the second-half when they absorbed immense Oldcastle pressure for the concession of just four points. The steady part of their game was a kind of blanket defence while the slow part was simply getting attention for injured players on a regular basis. That particular tactic paid dividends on at least three occasions as it sufficiently delayed Oldcastle frees which should have been converted. Of course it would be totally wide of the mark, like Oldcastle's finishing, to blame Maynooth for winning the game. The north Meath almost made an art out of not scoring and in a different arena, like a racetrack, they could have been hauled in front of the stewards to explain how and why they didn't win. That might seem harsh on a gallant team effort, but this Maynooth team was there for the taking. Oldcastle had them on the ropes, but they couldn't finish the job. They pounded and pounded for 22 second-half minutes which got them to within touching distance and then they were caught off guard with what was a very potent knock-out blow, a goal against the run of play. "That Maynooth team is very strong, probably the strongest team we have played this year," Oldcastle manager Seamus Kiernan told the Meath Chronicle. "We didn't play well today and we have to be very disappointed with our overall performance, we missed a lot of easy scores and duly paid the penalty. "However, Maynooth had a part to play in that also, they are good, they closed us down successfully and made it very difficult for our players. "We had too many wides in the second-half, on another day we would have scored them all, but this has been a great year for the club. "It's disappointing to lose a game like that, but we have a good young team and can look forward to playing senior football next year. "There are also a few other games to be played between now and Christmas in the league and u-21, so we will be busy over the next few weeks," he concluded. Oldcastle were adrift by 0-2 to 0-6 at the interval after playing against a strong wind. They failed to score from play as Niall Mangan (free) and Vincent Reynolds ('45') split the posts to keep the home supporters in the large crowd happy. Pierre Ennis (three), Karl Ennis (two) and Vincent Hanrahan were the marksmen for a hard-working Maynooth side which featured a third midfielder. That tactic was very successful and Oldcastle struggled to cope for most of the half as they lived off scraps and had goalkeeper Sean Fox to thanks for two superb saves. After the resumption Oldcastle had enough chances in the opening seven minutes to win the game, but wide followed wide. Nicky Galligan eventually gave the home crowd something to shout about with a fine point from play after eight minutes and he made the opening for substitute Ronan Farrelly who split the posts 60 seconds later. The momentum was with Oldcastle, but a delay while a Maynooth player received attention may have unhinged Mangan's close-range free which came back of the post and was cleared by a relieved Maynooth rearguard. Oldcastle continued to dominate and waste chances, but when Alan McCann worked tigerishly for possession in the 22nd minute it paved the way for a Farrelly point and reduced the deficit to the minimum (0-5 to 0-6). Maynooth managed a rare attack and Fox did well to deflect a Pierre Ennis effort out for a '45' from which midfielder Hugh Purcell got a touch on the edge of the square for the killer goal. The teams traded another point apiece, but Oldcastle had no way back and can only reflect on what could yet turn out to be a valuable lesson in the importance of taking your scores. Maynooth - P Flood; J Brennan, C O'Neill, P Warren; S Kennedy, A McAndrew, K Comerford; M Bennett, H Purcell (1-0); K Ennis (0-2, one free), F Molloy, C Canning; V Hanrahan (0-1), P Ennis (0-4, two frees), N Naughton. Subs - A Gunn for Brennan 28 mins, J Comerford for Molloy 48m, M Fahey for Naughton 50m, P Comerford for Hanrahan 60m. Oldcastle - S Fox; S Farrelly, S Rahill, T Rahill; B Curran, R McHugh, C Caffrey; E Gilsenan, V Reynolds (0-1, '45'); P Gilsenan (0-1, free), T Farrelly, P Rahill; N Mangan (0-1, free), N Galligan (0-1), A McCann. Subs - R Farrelly (0-2) for Rahill 26 mins, R Pakenham for Curran 44m, C McPartland for Mangan 55m. Referee - Paul Kneel (Louth). n This was the first Leinster club championship game at Oldcastle's new home at Millbrook and the hard-working officials can justifiably feel proud of their efforts. Unusually, for a Meath club, there is a covered area for spectators and there were plenty of stewards on duty inside and outside the ground to ease the flow of traffic into and out of the venue. Credit also to Meath Co Committee for appointing two official linesmen, Joey Curley and Brendan Darby. However, referee Paul Kneel from Louth was too lenient on the guidelines relating to encroachment (team officials and substitutes inside the sideline). There was an adequate seated area for team officials and substitutes and at no stage during the game did he attempt to make sure they stayed in it. Spectators who paid €10 admission to the game who were standing on that side of the pitch had their view blocked for most of the game. Definitely a yellow card for the referee.