Casey's goals help O'Mahonys secure the title

Navan side prove too strong for Kiltale

Colin O'Brien

Navan O’Mahony’s 2-12 Kiltale 1-10

Two goals from Luke Casey proved crucial as Navan O’Mahonys claimed the u-15 HL Div 1 title in Rathmolyon on Wednesday evening. There was very little between the sides throughout the game, with the lead swapping hands more than once.

Kiltale got off to a flying start, scoring two points from frees in the first five minutes. A nightmare start for Navan O’Mahony’s ensued when a ninth minute free found the net to give Kiltale a five point advantage.

Things began to look up in the tenth minute when Luke Casey found the net, followed quickly by a Cormac Fitzsimons free to reduce the deficit to a point. Kiltale responded with an impressive point from play in the twelfth minute.

The next ten minutes or so saw both sides tagging on points to the scoreboard, with Navan O’Mahony’s efforts coming from Seb Snow and Harry McGuirk.

Twenty minutes in, it was all square. In the twenty-fifth minute, a Kiltale point from play gave them the edge but this didn’t last long when Snow equalised with a 65 a minute later. Looking likely to be a draw at half time, Euan Kerr, after a good pass from Casey, stepped up on the cusp of half time to leave his side with the advantage at the interval, 1-6 to 1-5.

Three minutes after the resumption, the sides were level once again following a good Kiltale point. A Snow free put Navan O’Mahony’s to the fore again but two Kiltale points in quick succession reverse the fortunes after ten minutes.

Midway through the half, it was Kiltale who held the advantage with a two point lead. Two frees from Fitzsimons and Snow left it all square again before Casey, in the twentieth minute, put his side ahead again. A Kiltale player was shown the line, leaving Navan O’Mahony’s with a numerical advantage for the closing minutes of the game.

Almost immediately afterwards, after a battle for possession in the square, Casey found the net for his second goal to give Navan O’Mahony’s a small bit of breathing space. It wasn’t much however, and Kiltale were soon on the counter-attack, denied a goal by an impressive save from netminder Daniel Carolan.

A Fitzsimons point left five between the sides, forcing Kiltale to go for goal from a 21 yard free approaching full time. Again, Carolan got his hurley to the ball, delivering it to safety. Navan O’Mahony’s final score of the game came from Oisín Finnegan while Kiltale managed one more point to see out the game.

After the game, Navan O’Mahony’s captain Luke Brady accepted the cup on behalf of his club and team-mates.

Navan O'Mahonys - Daniel Carolan, Darragh McConnell, Sam O’Brien, Matthew Moran, Bobby Gaffney, Luke Brady, Tom McGuinness, Seb Snow (0-4), Eoghan McDermott, Oisin Finnegan (0-1), Max Condon, Harry McGuirk (0-2), Luke Casey (2-1), Euan Kerr (0-1), Cormac Fitzsimons (0-3)