Late Leinster final reprieve for Longwood

The inseperables. Even after 80 minutes of play there was no daylight to be found between these two sides in this Leinster Club JFC final at Longwood on Sunday. Now Longwood and St Mochta's must do it again and both sets of supporters, not to mention the management teams, are warned to expect plenty of heart-stopping, nerve-wracking drama. On the evidence of this display they might need some valium to get them through the replay. This was certainly nerve-shredding stuff as both sides employed a similar style. Both were full of talented players who met each other head on and produced a rollicking encounter that helped to produce some fireworks on a cold, dreary day at the south Meath venue. A big crowd - not far off 1,000 supporters - turned up and they certainly got their money's worth and few vacated their places early despite the biting wind that seemed to blow down directly from Siberia. Twice - in normal time and extra-time - Longwood looked like they were on the way out. Twice they found the strength and resolve to haul themselves off the ropes and earn a draw. On both occasions their ambitions were salvaged by last-gasp points from Rory Maguire. On both occasions the equalising score came from a free. Just how precarious it got for Longwood in normal time could be seen in the way that with seven minutes to go they trailed by three points and were desperately seeking a way back in. They kept at it and somehow dug out three points - two from Maguire, one from Mickey Burke - to force the game into extra-time. Just before he got the equaliser, Maguire also had an effort from play graze the top of the upright and sail wide. This was generally a sporting encounter full of honest endeavour yet the referee Fergal Barry showed a plethora of yellow cards and with so many players in the book it was inevitable that one of them would see red. That unlucky player was St Mochta's left-half-back Gary Connolly who had to make the lonely walk in the opening minutes of extra-time. He picked up two yellow cards in quick succession and it wasn't clear in either case what the offence was. In time honoured fashion the team that found themselves a man short went on to produce some spirited football and it looked like it would be enough until Maguire, who had run himself to a standstill, bravely slotted over the last point and force a replay. It is easy to see why St Mochta's won the Louth title, defeating Tony Kearney's St Fechin's along the way. They are tight, efficient unit with number of good players including Declan Byrne who has turned out in the red of Louth in the past. Along with his midfield partner Eamonn O'Neill, the Louth side won plenty of possession around midfield. For once John Cullinane and Burke were unable to exert total dominance in that sector and Longwood felt the impact in the forwards where chances weren't all that plentiful. It says a lot about Byrne's ability that he ended up as St Mochta's top scorer with eight points. With the stiff wind behind them in the opening half St Mochta's gave an early indication of the type of threat they carry. With just five minutes on the clock one of the sweeping moves they were well capable of stitching together ended with their centre-back Colin Hoey cutting in from the right and firing to the corner of the net. It took Longwood some time to come to terms with the conditions and their tricky opponents and after nine minutes the hard-working Maguire got his team on the impressive electronic scoreboard. Then Longwood got what every team needs to achieve anything - a slice of luck. On 15 minutes Maguire shot goalwards from about 30 metres but he didn't connect properly. The ball fell short into the arms of the St Mochta's goalkeeper Conor Ryan. Somehow he let it slip from his grasp and there was Longwood's Wayne Leonard to scoop the ball to the net via the inside of the far post. It was a break the home side badly needed. That goal meant that Longwood went into the break 1-3 to 1-6 behind, but with the wind to help them. The wind didn't prove as decisive as might have been expected in the second-half. Playing neat passing moves St Mochta's still carved out chances. At times the Longwood forwards had to go deep for possession and it wasn't unusual to see Aaron Ennis the only forward in position. Ennis managed only one point on this occasion but he did earn his share of fouls from defenders who found his pace hard to deal with and it was a game when scores had to earned the hard way. Briefly in the second-half Longwood took the lead. Just four minutes after the restart Ennis shot goalwards. The ball bounced against the bar and out to Leonard who fired the ball to the net. However, the referee had blown for a penalty apparently for a foul on Leonard. Up stepped Maguire to slot home a textbook spot-kick, the ball rifled low and accurate to the corner of the net. St Mochta's regained the lead with a help of a well-taken goal by Ken Meegan. They held onto it until Maguire forced extra-time. The balance of the game swayed one way then the other in extra-time, with Byrne and Maguire converting frees to keep the pot boiling. St Mochta's led by three and were looking good as the game drew to a close, but Longwood dug deep again and one point from Leonard and two frees from Maguire ensured this saga will continue for another day at least. Longwood - J Cully; C Greene, E Dixon, J Colgan; B Hanna, V Byrne, J Mahon; J Cullinane, M Burke (0-1); E Lynch, M Weir, K Ennis (0-1); A Ennis (0-1), W Leonard (1-1), R Maguire (1-9, one penalty, eight frees). Subs - C Lynch for Byrne 54 minutes, G Ennis for Mahon extra-time, P Bannon for Weir extra-time. St Mochta's - C Ryan; B Holland, P Englishby, P Marron; D Germon, C Hoey (1-0), G Connolly; D Byrne (0-8 frees), E O'Neill (0-2); L McGranaghan (0-1), S Crawley (0-2), S McMahon; K Meegan (1-0), J Marron, N Farrell. Sub - B Cassidy for Meegan, extra-time. Referee - Fergal Barry (Kildare).