Kilbeggan Shamrocks 1-8 St Loman's, Mullingar 1-7

Fortune favours the brave. Kilbeggan Shamrocks snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, with an injury-time goal giving them a narrow victory over St Loman’s, Mullingar, in a closely contested Junior 1 Football Championship final, at TEG Cusack Park on Saturday. An attritional final, dictated by wet and breezy conditions, saw the Mullingar side lead by four points after 48 minutes before a spirited Kilbeggan Shamrocks outfit clawed their way back. It seemed like it would be a case of their heroic efforts just falling short when St Loman’s, Mullingar notched an injury-time free to go two points clear, but in one final throw of the dice, Kilbeggan Shamrocks scored a most dramatic winning goal. It wasn’t a thing of beauty, in fact it was arguably an own goal as Brendan McMahon’s high delivery into the danger area was won by Paul Fennell, who fisted the ball across the face of goal where it struck opposing ‘keeper Danno Fitzsimons on the leg and ended up in the net. Remarkable.

It was a victory for the old traditional values of grit and determination as Niall O’Brien’s Kilbeggan Shamrocks side simply wouldn’t hear tell of defeat and afterwards it was clear what it meant to the entire community as they celebrated on the pitch in what were emotional scenes. It was agony and ecstasy rolled into one and St Loman’s, Mullingar were so close to winning out and seemed to have one hand on the trophy before that dramatic winning goal. The late drama more than made up for what was a dour final, with the poor playing conditions being a major factor. Kilbeggan Shamrocks dominated the first half and ought to have been well ahead, but they led by just two points at the interval, 0-5 to 0-3, leaving them vulnerable to a St Loman’s fight back. And with the breeze behind them in the second half, the Mullingar side produced a rousing effort, with wing back Sean Bracken outstanding.

Bracken’s brilliant goal on 44 minutes gave St Loman’s the lead for the first time and with momentum established, they led by 1-6 to 0-5 with 12 minutes of normal time remaining, before that late rally secured victory for a resurgent Kilbeggan Shamrocks.“We are overjoyed: it was a victory for team spirit and determination more than anything else. We are a close-knit group, there has been a strong bond all year and that came through in the second half. It’s wonderful,” admitted winning manager, Niall O’Brien after the final whistle. Kilbeggan Shamrocks made a terrific start and led when midfielder Niall Carey pointed after 30 seconds, following a move that involved Shaun Pidgeon, Conor Delaney and Danny Scully. They had a goal chance after three minutes but David Fennell couldn’t force the ball home from close-range, after Nigel Scally and Michael Coffey combined. Scally, who returned from a crucial ligament operation, would have a major influence on proceedings, though. After Paul Fennell’s effort came off the junction of crossbar and upright, denying Kilbeggan a goal, St Loman’s, Mullingar drew level in the 11th minute courtesy of a Shane Muldarry point. It was their only score in the opening 25 minutes, though. Scally kicked a splendid point for Kilbeggan Shamrocks (when David Fennell and Conor Delaney carved an opening). The same player added their third score in fine style when he fired over after some great work by Aidan Stone, David Fennell and Brendan McMahon. St Loman’s got their second point from a David Morgan free in the 27th minute, but Paul Fennell’s classy point from a difficult free kept Kilbeggan two in front (after Delaney was fouled). And David Fennell notched his side’s fifth point of the final to give them a three-point cushion in the final minute of normal time. Tagdh Kenny’s fine solo score helped St Loman’s, Mullingar reduce the leeway on 30 minutes and at the break, just two points separated the teams.

Kilbeggan Shamrocks almost got in for a second goal when play resumed, but St Loman’s, Mullingar survived and after seven minutes, the lively Sean Bracken set up Chris Gilbert for his side’s fourth point. It was 0-5 apiece after 42 minutes when substitute Cian Daly linked up with Bracken, who cut in and fired over. The Mullingar men were growing into the match and after 44 minutes, Morgan’s pass sent Bracken clear; after a wonderful run the wing back’s rasping shot skimmed the underside of the crossbar and found the net for a superb goal. They almost scored a second moments later, but substitute Cillian Plunkett sent a low drive across the face of goal and wide. St Loman’s were relentless at this stage and Bracken set up Daly for a point to make it 1-6 to 0-5 in their favour. It seemed like a long road back for Kilbeggan Shamrocks at this juncture, but they refused to read the script. The outstanding Brendan McMahon linked up with Paul Fennell, who cut inside and fired over a point when he might well have found the net. And after 54 minutes, Delaney was fouled, leading to another difficult free from an acute angle which Paul Fennell duly converted, leaving two points between the teams. Another Paul Fennell free on 58 minutes made it three unanswered points for the men in maroon, who were showing resilience. Moments earlier, Gilbert missed a great chance to put St Loman’s three clear. Still, as the game ticked into added time, it looked like St Loman’s Mullingar had done enough as Bracken won a free in the scoring zone and Morgan converted, making it 1-7 to 0-8. But two minutes into added time, Kilbeggan Shamrocks managed to plunder a winning goal. It came when McMahon’s delivery was won by Paul Fennell near the endline: he showed strength to cut inside and fisted the ball across the face of goal where it came off the opposing goalie’s leg and into the net, with Conor Delaney applying serious pressure. There was a heart-stopping moment for Kilbeggan Shamrocks as the referee consulted with his umpire, but ultimately the goal stood. And after surviving one last St Loman's attack they were celebrating their first junior title since 2018, and eighth in total, when the final whistle sounded after over five minutes of added time. Afterwards, join captains Nigel Scally and James Fox accepted the Hugh Daniels Cup from Frank Mescall, County Committee chairman, amid scenes of ecstasy among the big Kilbeggan Shamrocks following.

Scorers – Kilbeggan Shamrocks: P Fennell 1-4 (0-3f), N Scally 0-2, N Carey and D Fennell 0-1 each. St Loman’s, Mullingar: S Bracken 1-1, D Morgan 0-2 (2f), C Gilbert, S Muldarry, T Kenny and C Daly 0-1 each.

Kilbeggan Shamrocks: Joe O’Neill; Sean Hanlon, James Fox, Martin Ward; Conor Carroll, Aidan Stone, Michael Coffey; Niall Carey, Brendan McMahon; Paul Fennell, Shaun Pidgeon, Danny Scully; David Fennell, Conor Delaney, Nigel Scally. Subs: Colin Draper for Coffey (36), Darragh Coffey for Carey (39), James Finnegan for Scully (48), Alan Fennell for Delaney (60+4).

St Loman’s, Mullingar: Danno Fitzsimons; Sean Kelly, Nathan Lally, Ethan Browne; Eoghan Kenny, Shane Flynn, Sean Bracken; Conor Regan, Paddy Dowdall; Adam Lynch, Eoghan O’Keeffe, Shane Muldarry; Chris Gilbert, David Morgan, Tagdh Kenny. Subs: Cillian Plunkett for Br (21), Cian Daly for Lynch (38), Ciaran Smyth for E Kenny (40), Adam O’Connor for Gilbert (60+2), Daniel McCann for Muldarry (60+3).

Ref: Enda Kenny (Ballinagore).