League title success for Blackhall Gaels

After nine years in charge of the most successful club in recent Meath history Tony Kearney"s reign as Wolfe Tones manager came to a disappointing end at Ashbourne on Sunday when they were beaten by Blackhall Gaels in the A FL Div 1 final. The league title is one of many trophies already won by Kearney, but he couldn"t add another to his impressive CV in a game that was a tale of two penalties, one missed by Wolfe Tones and the other scored by Blackhall Gaels. There was also a crucial turning point early in the second-half when Wolfe Tones led by 0-9 to 0-6 and gave away possession cheaply which allowed Anthony Moyles cut that deficit with an easy point. However, the penalties were the crucial moments. Cian Ward saw his 26th minute effort superbly saved by Martin Whelan and the Blackhall Gaels goalkeeper also smothered Ward"s rebound to keep his side in the game. In contrast, when Alan Nestor was handed a penalty opportunity nine minutes from time he finished superbly to the roof of the net to propel Blackhall Gaels into a 1-10 to 0-10 lead. On such small incidents games can hinge. Wolfe Tones had been the team in the ascendancy with Ward tormenting Declan Dalton and Dermot O"Brien and also showing superb accuracy from frees, but when he saw his penalty saved he subsequently drifted out of the game. He still worked hard to win possession, but he didn"t carry the same threat in the second-half and that gave Blackhall Gaels confidence to push on. Blackhall Gaels manager Eamonn Barry acknowledged that his side played better in the second-half and he felt they got what they deserved from the game. 'We knew there would be nothing in it between two tough teams. We really dug out a hard earned victory. I think we played better football in the second-half against the breeze, so we just about shaded it,' said the Blackhall Gaels manager. 'I"ve made no secret of it that the lads have played very good football all year, but when the big games came we let ourselves down badly. We were very poor in the SFC against O"Mahonys and that was a disappointing display. 'We have been chasing a good performance. That wasn"t great today, but the lads really dug in and worked hard. The conditions were difficult, but I said at half-time that a breeze will never win a game and that it is footballers who win games,' concluded Barry. It looked for long periods that Wolfe Tones would win, but their flowing style was disrupted by 60 frees that reduced the game to a stuttering contest that rarely got going. There was no serious rough play, but referee Jack Gordon had to deal with many silly fouls and basic errors. There were a few passages of decent play, but almost too few to mention. All bar three of Wolfe Tones points were from frees and their over-reliance on Ward limited their chances when his confidence dipped. Blackhall Gaels also placed a huge weight of responsibility on the shoulders of Tadhg Brosnan, but they could also call on a decent scoring input from Sean Whelan to boost them. Kearney was disappointed with the outcome, but he agreed that he can have no complaints about the result. 'I"m very disappointed to have lost it. They were the hungrier team in the second-half and we lost control of the game in the first 15 minutes of the second-half,' he suggested 'It was a game decided by penalties, we missed ours and they got theirs. 'The turning point came when we were three points up and we gave away possession with a bad clearance and they went down to get a point. 'Losing is a bit of a disappointment, but it was only one game. The year has gone on too long. 'We qualified for the league final four or five weeks ago and it was hard to keep fresh for it,' he concluded. The opening nine minutes was a shoot-out between Ward and Brosnan with Wolfe Tones taking a 0-3 to 0-1 lead. Blackhall settled and by the end of the opening quarter points from Sean Whelan and Andy Brady restored parity, 0-4 each. Mark Coleman was denied a goal by a superb save from Martin Whelan, but Ward edged Wolfe Tones ahead before his penalty miss. Sean Whelan pointed brilliantly, but Ward tapped over a simple free to ensure Wolfe Tones led by 0-6 to 0-5 at the break. When Ward (two) and Alan Fox stretched Wolfe Tones lead to 0-9 to 0-6 it looked like curtains for Blackhall, but the tide started to turn with that Moyles point. Sean Whelan cut the deficit to the minimum before Brosnan restored parity. Tiernan pointed a free to move Wolfe Tones ahead again, but when Nestor converted a penalty Blackhall took the lead for the first time. The penalty proved to be Blackhall"s last score, but it was enough as Wolfe Tones wasted late chances and eventually ran out of time in their bid to bring a successful end to Kearney"s reign as manager. SCORERS Blackhall Gaels - T Brosnan 0-5, four frees; S Whelan 0-3; A Nestor 1-0 penalty; A Brady 0-1; A Moyles 0-1; Wolfe Tones - C Ward 0-9, eight frees; A Fox 0-1; J Tiernan 0-1 free; N McLoughlin 0-1. THE TEAMS Blackhall Gaels - M Whelan; G Beirne, D Dalton, D O"Brien; D Beirne, J Meyler, N O"Hora; A Moyles, M Mullally; M Ferris, S Whelan, J Callinan; A Nestor, T Brosnan, A Brady. Sub - M Crampton for Ferris 41 mins. Wolfe Tones - D Nolan; R Brady, C McLoughlin, D Browne; C Martin, E Harrington, S Sheppard; S Corrigan, G Beggy; A Fox, D McGrath, N McLoughlin; J Tiernan, C Ward, M Coleman. Sub - B McGinn for Browne 45 mins. REFEREE Jack Gordon (Walterstown).