Opportunity lost for O"Mahonys

There was an air of opportunity lost around Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon as Navan O"Mahonys were dumped out of the Leinster Club SFC at the penultiame hurdle by Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes. For a side with so much potential Sunday"s performance was a shocking disappointment against a team they are more than capable of defeating, but O"Mahonys never performed anywhere near to the best of their ability. Very few players rose their game to the level needed to punch at this weight. Niall McKeigue and Barry Regan were the Meath champion"s best performers, but so many others choose the big stage to have an off day. It is that disappointment that will hurt O"Mahonys most. All good sides can cope with two or three players playing below their best, but when nine or 10 key men struggle to find their form then an excellent outfit like Kilmacud Crokes will take full advantage. Nothing went O"Mahonys way. They rarely won a break at midfield, came out second best in most 50-50 challenges and were on the wrong side of a few poor refereeing decisions by Longford official John Bannon. The referee cannot be offered as an excuse for playing so poorly, but when things weren"t going O"Mahonys way many of their injuries were compounded by strange calls from the referee who seemed to favour the Dublin champions in many circumstances. The key moment of the game came nine minutes into the contest when a mix-up between Kevin Reilly and his goalkeeper Mark Brennan allowed Mark Davoren to flick the ball to the net and give his side a 1-1 to 0-2 advantage. The goal was a real calamity and the first that Brennan has conceded in championship football this year. Neither the goalkeeper or Reilly took control of the situtation when Brian Kavanagh lofted in an aimless centre and Davoren raised a fist to get the vital touch. That goal knocked the stuffing out of O"Mahonys who had started well with a brace of early points, but they didn"t score for the remainder of the half and therein lay their biggest problem. The goal had the opposite effect on the Dublin side. Their confidence grew and with Brian Kavanagh enjoying a fruitful afternoon on Damien Moran they transferred that assuredness onto the scoreboard. Kavanagh had an outstanding game for the winners. He tortured the O"Mahonys rearguard and while Niall McKeigue snuffed out the threat of Vaughan and exploited much of the space left by the Dublin marksman, it was Kilmacud"s Longford import Kavanagh who did the most damage. Apart from the opening four minutes O"Mahonys struggled all over the field. Mark Ward couldn"t get a stranglehold at midfield and the Bray brothers Stephen and David couldn"t shake off the shackles of the tight marking Dublin defenders. The normally industrtious Henry Finnegan failed to get into the game and while Paddy Smyth did work hard, he wasn"t rewarded with the normal productivity you would expect from the O"Mahonys captain. It was a tough, disappointing afternoon for the Meath champions because they are a lot better than they showed at Parnell Park. The defeat was their first in all senior championship football in 2008, but it couldn"t have come at a worse time. It had looked promising for the Meath champions in the opening four minutes. They sprayed the ball around and dragged the Kilmacud Crokes rearguard all over Parnell Park. Niall McKeigue was enjoying the freedom afforded to him by Vaughan"s unwillingness to work back and he set up scores for David Bray and Smyth either side of a Kavanagh response for Kilmacud Crokes. However, disaster struck in the ninth minute in the form of Davoren"s goal and subsequently everything started to go wrong for O"Mahonys. Smyth saw an effort strike the upright and drift wide, Stephen Bray was also wayward with a couple of efforts, while at the other end Kilmacud were patient in their build up and were rewarded with a fine point from Brian McGrath. Sean Keating had a great goal chance to settle O"Mahonys, but he shot straight at Kevin Nolan on the Kilmacud line and in the final 12 minutes of the half the Dublin champions pulled clear with Vaughan (three, two frees) and Kavanagh making it 1-6 to 0-2 in their favour at the break. O"Mahonys needed a great start to the second-half to have any chance and they got that after 30 seconds when Stephen Bray pointed. Two minutes later David Bray pointed a free from a difficult angle and a recovery was on the cards. However, Kilmacud took over again. Navan"s frustrations resulted in yellow cards for Gary O"Brien, Moran and Reilly and a poor wide from Stephen Bray when in a decent goal scoring position added to those woes. Vaughan restored Kilmacud"s six-point cushion from a disputed free and while O"Brien did reply for O"Mahonys it was a touch of Vaughan class that made it 1-8 to 0-5 as the third quarter concluded. O"Mahonys threatened another revival in the final quarter when Stephen Bray pointed and Keating tapped over a free. Cormac McGuinness also hit the upright, but Kilmacud had plenty in reserve. Brennan was forced to make a superb save to deny Pat Burke, but in the final four minutes Burke pointed twice and Vaughan converted a 13-metre free to bring the curtain down on a glorious year for O"Mahonys that ended in disappointment. SCORERS Kilmacud Crokes - M Vaughan 0-6, four frees; M Davoren 1-0; B Kavanagh 0-2; P Burke 0-2; B McGrath 0-1. Navan O"Mahonys - D Bray 0-2, one free; S Bray 0-2; S Keating 0-1 free; G O"Brien 0-1; P Smyth 0-1. THE TEAMS Kilmacud Crokes - D Nestor; K Nolan, P Griffin, C Lambe; B McGrath, R O"Carroll, A Morrissey; D Magee, N Corkery; L McBarron, P Burke, R Cosgrove; M Vauaghan, M Davoren, B Kavanagh. Subs - L Og O hEinneachain for Cosgrove 35 mins, J Magee for Corkery 46m, B O"Rorke for McBarron. Navan O"Mahonys - M Brennan; D Moran, K Reilly, N McKeigue; S O"Toole, C McGuinness, S MacGabhann; M Ward, B Regan; P Smyth, S Bray, H Finnegan; D Bray, S McKeigue, S Keating. Subs - G O"Brien for Smyth half-time, L Russell for Finnegan 44 mins, T Loughran for S McKeigue 60m. REFEREE John Bannon (Longford).