Caltra 2-9 The Loup 0-9The battle of the newcomers to this stage of the club championship in front of a 10,000 crowd was won convincingly by the Galway champions who found invaluable inspiration from the Meehan brothers, all five of them - Enda, Declan, Thomas, Micheál and Noel.
The youngest of the quintet, Micheál (19), who scored the two goals and added four points off frees declined to accept he deserved the man-of-the-match award. "Any one of our backs would have been more deserving of the honour," he declared.
Indeed, Caltra's blanket defensive tactics worked very well in denying the Derry side, who became notably frustrated in the second half.
In addition to their defensive strengths, a sturdy midfield and an at-times opportunistic front line of attack, are sure to present formidable opposition for Kerry opponents An Ghaeltacht in the March 17th decider.
The match itself was a stop-start, free-riddled affair and Longford referee Enda Murtagh had his hands full in trying to control a game that could easily have got out of hand, given he booked eight players before sending Loup full forward Shane Flynn off seven minutes from time for a second yellow card offence.
At that point the Derrymen's efforts to erase a one-goal deficit went from bad to worse, with midfielder Johnny McBride failing to play his usual dominant role. It meant that Ronan Rocks, off a free, proved to be Loup's only second-half scorer against the wind.
The Loup never went close to consolidating a sparkling second-quarter display during which they tagged on five points to wipe out a two-point deficit and leapfrog into a three-point half-time lead of 0-8 to 0-5.
Micheál Meehan rattled the Derry challenge with a goal within seconds of the restart and another that put the issue to bed in the closing minutes. In between, he had pointed frees and had a close shave for another goal in a brilliant move that saw Loup corner-back Paddy McGuinness clear off the goal line for a '45.
Caltra's form dipped during that wind-assisted second period, with Micheál Meehan and his brother Noel making some dismal attempts at improving their side's position on the scoreboard.
Shane Hogahad a great point for Caltra to put three between the sides in the 42nd minute. There was even better to come for the Galway side when Hogan, wing back Oisín Kelly and the inevitable Michael Meehan put together a great move that spread-eagled the Derry rearguard and set up the clinching goal.
Hogan set up the dovetailing Kelly with a neat pass and when he in turn fed Micheál Meehan, goalkeeper Shane McGuckin somehow got in a parry, only for Micheál Meehan to drill a great left-footed shot to the net.
There was no way back for The Loup after that.
CALTRA: K Kilroy; G Murray, E Meehan, B Kilroy; D Meehan, K Gavin, D Kelly; T Meehan, D Canniffe; B Laffoy, A Galvin, M Killylea; M Meehan (2-4, four frees), N Meehan (0-4, three frees), S Hogan (0-1). Subs: O Hennelly for Laffey (56 mins), C Kilroy for Galvin (57 mins), P Gately for Kelly (58 mins), K Killilea for Hogan (59 mins), D Costello for E Meehan (59 mins).
THE LOUP: S McGuckin; J Devlin, J O'Kane, P McGuinness; B Lavery, P O'Kane, F Devlin; J McBride (0-1), J Young (0-1); B McVey, F Martin (0-1), R Rocks (0-2, frees); P McFlynn (0-1), S McFlynn (0-2), P Young (0-1). Subs: G Mallon for P Young (45 mins), E McQuillan for McVey & K Bigmore for Lavery (both 50 mins).
Referee: E Murtagh (Longford).
