Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar 4-9

Gormanston College 1-3

The junior footballers from Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar are through to the North Leinster final after a facile win over Gormanston College in the penultimate round at Dunganny on Monday last, March 8, but they will need to be less wasteful if they are to have any chance of defeating another Meath college, St. Patrick’s, Navan in the final.

On a cold but very sunny day, a handful of spectators turned up at the resplendent facilities just outside Trim in anticipation of a ding-dong struggle for the Mullingar lads against the once-might Gormanston. However, the losers had not got players of the calibre of past pupil Denis ‘Ogie’ Moran on show and, in truth, Malachy Flanagan’s troops won in a canter.

The winners had whatever advantage was accruing from a mainly cross-field wind and the game began in truly bizarre circumstances, a clearly impatient referee throwing in the ball to Gormanston players only, as Coláiste Mhuire finished their pre-match huddle! Emmet Corrigan opened the scoring when he rounded off a fine move with a point in the third minute. At the other end, Chris Ruigrok spurned a great chance of a Gormanston goal, but the lads in all-maroon soon registered a score when Shane Landy tapped over a 20-metre free.

Luke Peppard gave Coláiste Mhuire the lead with a fisted point and the same player followed up in the eighth minute when he pounced for a well-taken goal, after picking up the ball from Niall O’Brien’s goalward lob. Chris Ruigrok then looked certain to find the net for Gormanston but Larry Razinkas and Brian Slevin combined bravely to keep out the full forward.

A Coláiste Mhuire ‘goal’ by Emmet Corrigan was correctly disallowed as the ball had been fisted to the net and the same player was then thwarted by a great save from Danny Cookman, at the expense of an unconverted ‘45′. The lads in green and white were very much in control of proceedings at this juncture and they chalked up an unanswered five points in the second quarter of the game, despite kicking a number of poor wides under no great pressure. The points came from Jamie Loran (three, including one free via the upright), Mark Browne and Emmet Corrigan (his low shot shaving the crossbar). Gormanston’s inadequacy was evidenced by a brace of very poor frees from great positions by Cormac Madden. At the break, Coláiste Mhuire led by 1-7 to 0-1.

Within seconds of the re-start, Coláiste Mhuire’s Sean Daly produced a wonderful block on James McEntee. Before a minute had elapsed, the winners manufactured the score of the game, a great run from David Lynch teeing up David Whelan who duly rifled home a brilliant shot to the roof of the Gormanston net. Sean Daly followed up with a point and Jamie Loran opened up a whopping 16-point gap with less than five minutes on the clock with a great low shot past Danny Cookman.

To his credit, the latter player continued to do well and he produced a great save from Niall O’Brien. Midway through the second moiety, Conor Grimes’ shot came back off the woodwork and his midfield partner Declan Smyth was fouled in the large parallelogram. Cormac Madden atoned for earlier lapses from frees when he struck a powerful penalty kick past Larry Razinkas.

A degree of lethargy had crept into Coláiste Mhuire’s game and Gormanston added to their meagre total when James McEntee pointed a close-range free and followed up with a fine point from play. With two minutes of normal time remaining, Luke Peppard rounded off a sweeping move with a clinical finish to the net.

However, the corner forward fluffed a glorious chance of completing his hat-trick in the winners’ next attack, taking too many steps as the net gaped in front of him. Such profligacy will simply not suffice when the leading football nursery in the province in recent years, St. Patrick’s Classical School take to the field in the provincial decider.

The North Leinster Final will take place on Tuesday the 16th of March at Longwood.

Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar: Larry Razinkas; Adam Moore, Brian Slevin, Aidan Wallace; Efi Siode, Cathal Scally, Killian Daly; David Lynch, Sean Daly (0-1); Mark Browne (0-1), David Whelan (1-0), Jamie Loran (1-3, 0-1 from a free); Luke Peppard (2-1), Niall O’Brien (0-1), Emmet Corrigan (0-2). Subs: Luke Loughlin (for Whelan, 48 mins), Michael Cox (for Wallace, 55 mins), Dylan McDermott (for O’Brien, 55 mins), Daniel Sheridan (for Loran, 59 mins), Niall Gunning (for Moore, 59 mins).