Westmeath… 2-14
Cavan… 1-13
There have been numerous examples in GAA of matches being turned on their head by moments of greatness. Anyone who has been kind enough to frequent this space for long enough will know my favourite exhibits of same.
There is another one, mind you, which never got the acclaim it deserved. Albeit for very subjective reasons. Now read on… The first half of the 2016 Leinster SFC semi final was as good a footballing display as any male Meath team has produced in Croke Park in many a day.
Bryan McMahon blasted past the great Gary Connaughton twice early on as those who were then Mick O’Dowd’s troops led by 2-12 to 1-07 at half time. One foot in the Delaney Cup decider surely?
Alas no. Now, whether it was a collapse of gargantuan proportions by Meath or the ultimate salvage mission by the Lake County has never quite been deciphered. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Damn all of that second period is recalled in all honesty.
Aside, that is, from the outstanding Kieran Martin charging through the Meath defence like Lance Corporal Jones going after the Fuzzie Wuzzies and burying the ball past Paddy O’Rourke. Giving his county a first ever Championship win over the green and gold.
Cavan were never in quite as good a position as the Royals were a half dozen years ago, but Martin’s contribution to another Croker cracker was no less dramatic or historic. Both sides had been accumulating huge scores during the summer so a close encounter was always on the cards.
However, perhaps surprisingly, it was the Ulster men who set to work fastest, posting the first four scores without reply. Courtesy of the wonderful Gerard Smith, two from Gearoid McKiernan and one from Oisin Kiernan.
It was, as is so often the case, the trusty boot of John Heslin that steadied Westmeath nerves as they eased their way into the contest. With the greatest respect to the Athlone farmer – who has soldiered on more bad days than good in the maroon and white – all the burden wasn’t on him as players such as Ronan Wallace, Sam Duncan, Sam McCartan and, in particular, the mesmeric Ronan O’Toole left onlookers spellbound as has been their wont all season.
As well as sending over five exquisite points in his own right, the latter named centre forward produced a pass of such quality there may not be enough superlatives to describe which, once gathered by Luke Loughlin was rapidly transferred to Lorcan Dolan and duly buried.
To their credit though, Cavan recovered from been put into a dizzying tailspin by the Westmeath rally and a wondrous Paddy Lynch point left just two points between the sides, 1-08 to 0-09, at the change of ends. The first real momentum swing came half way through the second half when full back Padraig Faulkner drove forward and shovelled the ball to the net.
Thereafter, the Breffni County engineered a chasm of three points for themselves and it appeared the Tailteann Cup was heading back along with Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff and all other parts of where there is a lake for every day of the year.
Not so. The last and most crucial revision of the script came at the beginning of the final quarter. When for the blue and white, what had been a manageable pothole became a fatal crater for them when midfield powerhouse Thomas Galligan received a straight red card for a high tackle in the 58th minute.
I had, and to be honest still have, grave doubts about the expulsion of Armagh’s Greg McCabe against Galway but unfortunately for Galligan his case was a cut and dried one. While being deprived of his considerable talents was always likely to have a considerable impact on his side’s fortunes, it’s unlikely to have been foreseen as being so dramatic and quick.
And Kieran Martin hadn’t even come on yet. Within two minutes of his doing so, Cavan literally didn’t know what was happening whereas to a Meath fan looking in it was eerily familiar. Gaining possession around 40 metres out, the Cavan defence parted for Martin like a line of traffic yielding to an oncoming emergency vehicle. From whence the battle hardened warrior rifled to the net.
Doubtless, daunted but undeterred, the shellshocked Ulster side one more time summoned the embodiment of everything which has punctuated their undeniable progress under Mickey Graham in recent seasons to fashion a chance for Conor Madden to deliver them to salvation.
Look through maroon and white lenses, mind you, and it’s a different story. One of a leader, a Captain, fulfilling their role in the most timely and telling manner possible. Full back Kevin Maguire producing a block of comparable importance and brilliance to those executed by Mick Lyons and Conor Gormley in All Ireland finals many years before.
Something like that is akin to encasing a team in an oxygen tank, so it was little surprise to see the industrious Ronan Wallace glide upfield and flash over the FBD score as the clock wound down. Whatever about the possibility of a Cavan victory being due reward for Graham and Co, it absolutely was that for Westmeath in the end.
Not only for their skill and courage and self belief on the day but, perhaps even more so, for having the loyalty and man parts to stick with Jack Cooney, giving him the time and backing to put the systems and structures in place to bring the project forward. Beyond its current manifestation with the aid of initiatives such as the Maroon And White Development Squads – which Cooney also heads up.
Forward thinking, especially when the clueless, trigger-happy approach in most places is to hire and fire with more rapidity than Donald Trump defenestrates with Defence Attorneys. Looking at the bigger picture, however, the real winner here was the Tailteann Cup itself and, by extension, the very essence of Gaelic football itself.
The GAA get a lot of things wrong, from malfunctioning HawkEye to the disgraceful manner in which the All Ireland Minor Finals are now treated, to the appointment of referees, to the lack of co-operation between the GAA, LGFA and the Camogie Association with regard to fixtures etc. But, for once, the Association deserves utmost credit for the manner in which they constructed and, indeed, promoting the Tailteann Cup.
Great credit is also, due, however, to the teams who partook therein. It would have been very easy for counties to scoff at the competition as piece meal window dressing which could very easily have gone the way the Tommy Murphy Cup was shamefully allowed go.
On first showing, the new competition – which derserves to be treated as the second tier of the All Ireland SFC as the Cup competitions are in hurling – got the promotion, coverage and conclusion it deserved. The trick now is to build on it.