Revenge is sweet for Oldcastle as they claim Reserve Cup
Oldcastle 3-8
Moynalvey 0-10
When these sides met back in March at the start of the season, it was one of those days for Oldcastle when anything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and the north Meath suffered a big defeat.
A long hard season has gone by since then, and the Oldcastle players had built their confidence with some fine performances in the interim, so they were looking forward to showing the south-Meath men what a difference a few months can make at Millbrook on Sunday evening.
Moynalvey were first on the scoreboard, with a point within a minute, but that was to be their last time in the lead! The kickout found Mossy Flood, on to Lee Healy, to Cillian Connell and Conor Delaney, back to Cillian and on to Ben Grey: he found Garrett O’Reilly in a great position near the goals, Garrett duly blasting her to the back of the net for a super goal!
Great work from Darren Hawdon got a ball to Lee Healy who was fouled and converted. Moynalvey added on a free and point of their own, before Karl Gibneys’ kickout found Darren Hawdon, on to Oran Mulvanny, to Stephen Tierney and on to Conor Delaney, he found Lee Healy making a great run on goal, Lee copped at high speed that Garrett was in a better position, quick pass and Garrett netted his second goal of the match! Cillian Connell added on Oldcastles’ next point: a super kick from way outfield that sailed straight between the posts.
A nice Ross Cadden pass to Garrett O’Reilly soon after resulted in yet another goal: with just about fifteen minutes gone in the match, a hat-trick for the player to great appreciation from the big home crowd! Moynalvey were definitely rattled, with more wides than scores for the rest of the half, Oldcastle building on their lead with a free from Keith Connell and a point from Garrett, to leave the half-time score Oldcastle 3-5, Moynalvey 0-5.
The second-half got underway with a Moynalvey wide, followed by a lovey run and point from Ben Grey. Keith Connell took the next, before a lovely piece of play: Karl Gibneys’ kickout caught perfectly by Oran Mulvanny, sent on to Stephen Tierney: he turned and shot and put her right between the posts.
Moynalvey added on a few points but the gap was still eight between the sides when they were awarded a penalty. The crowd erupted when Karl pulled off the perfect save, and from then on there was no doubt that the Cup was coming to Oldcastle!
Soon after, referee Peter O’Halloran blew his whistle on a final score of Oldcastle 3-8, Moynalvey 0-10. A super victory for this young team, and a fitting reward for their hard work all year.
Oldcastle - Karl Gibney, Mossy Flood, Joe Lynch, Lloyd Colleran, Louis Colleran, Darren Hawdon, Cillian Connell (0-1), Ross Cadden (captain), Oran Mulvanny, Lee Healy (0-2), Conor Delaney, Ben Grey (0-1), Garrett O’Reilly (3-1), Stephen Tierney (0-1), Keith Connell (0-2). Subs - Kyle Kavanagh, Lorcan Fox, Josh Halpin, Jack Murphy, Brian Hetherton, Conor Hetherton, Mattie Cadden.
MOYNALVEY PERSPECTIVE
Oldcastle claimed the Div. 3 Reserve Cup with a nine point win over Moynalvey in the final played at Millbrook on Sunday morning.
All three of Oldcastle’s goals came in the opening fifteen minutes of this game as the Moynalvey defence took it’s time to wake up after their long Sunday morning trek to Millbrook.
Although the remainder of the game was evenly contested on the score board, Moynalvey never recovered from the concession of those three early goals.
It was Moynalvey who opened the scoring with a point from their top scorer Vinny Walsh, with the home side accounting for 1-2 before Walsh registered his side’s second point in the ninth minute.
A third Walsh point in the 12th minute reduced the deficit to two points, but then an Oldcastle purple patch of scoring saw them take a 3-5 to 0-3 lead.
A free and a mark from Walsh rounded off his and his team’s first half scoring to leave it 3-5 to 0-5 at half time.
Although the second half was evenly contested those early goals handed Oldcastle a lead they weren’t to relinquish as they ran out deserved eight point winners, 3-9 to 0-10.
Moynalvey’s second half points coming from Vinny Walsh (two), Sean Duggan (two) and substitute Eoghan Commins.
Moynalvey - Chris O’Malley, Conor Egan, Charlie McCormack, Darragh Branigan, Adam Rooney, David Donoghue, Craig Gilsenan, Michael Brady, Brian Harnan, Conor Quinn, Donal Smith, Ciaran Harnan, Shaun Deering, Sean Duggan (0-2), Vinny Walsh, (0-7, 4f & 1m). Subs - Caragh O’Brien, Scott Tuite, Padraig Kelly, Eoghan Commins (0-1), Eoin Corrigan, Anthony Brien, Aidan Gilsenan, Liam O’Reilly.