LEINSTER SHC SEMI-FINAL Oulart the Ballagh 4-11 Raharney 4-8:AS HIGHLY-trained observers with years of experience, we can report from the press box that this game ended. That was our feeling anyway. We couldn't see much. The fog came down quite heavy in Mullingar yesterday and towards the end we could vaguely discern shot after shot hitting the net. Or imagined we could.
The fog made this game more entertaining than it had a right to be. By early in the second half the scoreboard had vanished, the far touchline was but a rumour and the sliotar was making random appearances in the area of the pitch still discernible to us. Some shadowy figure made a wonderful 50-yard run and we all agreed he was quick – whoever he was.
When we could still see what was going on we formed an impression which we found it necessary to stick with. Raharney had the guts and the appetite to take a big scalp, but Oulart had that extra guile and pace in their full-forward line. When the going got rough the pace was injected through Rory Jacob and Nicky Kirwan. The guile came from Stephen Doyle on the left wing. He authored a series of devastatingly creative passes.
The scoreline says nothing about the crazed period of play toward the end which brought four goals (three in a minute), three of which belonged to Raharney and helped them paper over the differences between the sides.
Early on we thought we could smell an upset. For the first 10 minutes Raharney matched Oulart physically and on the scoreboard and the game looked as if it might be a slugfest on the heavy field.
After 15 minutes or so, though, things changed. David Redmond came steaming through from midfield at a pace not heretofore imagined. He was well hooked just as he pulled the trigger, but Raharney had the misfortune to see the midfielder pull sweetly on his left and drive the ball home anyway.
Oulart crept five points ahead but Raharney battled on and scores from Paul Greville, John Shaw and Brendan McKeogh reduced the margin to two.
If Raharney could get into the dressingroom with that sort of slender deficit to attack after the break? . . . Not to be. On the stroke of half-time Nicky Kirwan’s shot was brilliantly saved by Andrew Doyle but dropped invitingly in a slow arc for Rory Jacob. Goal.
Kirwin added a quick goal as they blitzed through again. Both goals were slightly unfortunate for Raharney, but it wasn’t a day for mulling over these things.
Raharney were under pressure from the restart. Rory Jacob fed Kirwan with a sweet handpass and Doyle did well to stop the shot for a 65. The 65 was taken short and inventively into Jacob’s hand. He popped it directly over.
A minute or two later a long free dropped in the Raharney full-back line. With visibility declining the backs seemed to find it hard to locate the ball. Kirwan was on hand to score Oulart’s third goal, putting them nine clear with a quarter of the game remaining.
Which is when it got crazy. John Shaw, excellent throughout for Raharney, scored a goal following a low-driven free from Brian Connaughton. Time for Oulart to sort out this sort of impudence. Rory Jacob drilled three points in quick succession to open the gap again.
So to the shrouded drama of the endgame. Another Shaw goal brings Raharney to within five. Instantly the ball is pucked out and vanishes down the pitch where Dessie Mythen rams it home. That it? No. Before we could say “where’s the sliotar” it was in the Oulart net again. Good fun.
OULART THE BALLAGH: B O'Connor; J Roche, K Rossiter, B Keogh; P Roche, E Moore, L Prendergast; M Jacob, D Redmond (1-0); D Nolan (0-1), G Sinnott, S Murphy (0-1); R Jacob (1-5), S Doyle, N Kirwan (1-4). Subs: F Cullen for P Roche (half-time), D Mythen (1-0)for S Murphy (45 mins), D Morton for M Jacob (50 mins).
RAHARNEY: A Doyle; R McKeogh, C Jordan, D Carey; T Doyle, B Connaughton (0-1, free), A Giles; N Flanagan, C Flanagan; C Boyle, J Shaw (2-3, 0-2 frees), B Smyth (0-2); B McKeogh (0-1), P Greville (2-1), F Boyle. Subs: M Conroy for D Carey (23 mins), J Boyle for N Flanagan (50 mins), D Mullen for T Doyle (55 mins).
Referee: A Stapleton(Laois).
