Too little, too late as Sarsfields comeback falls short and they crash out of Leinster Championship

Sean O'Mahonys(Louth)          1-8 Sarsfields                                       0-8 Leinster SFC quarter-final It was a case of too little, too late for Sarsfields as a dire opening 46 minutes of football came back to haunt them as they crashed out of the Leinster Championship to Louth side Sean O'Mahonys. The Newbridge outfit went into this game as massive favourites, but they failed to get out of first gear for the majority of the game, and by the time they eventually started playing to their potential they had left themselves with too steep a mountain to climb. Alan Smith's 46th minute point was the first time the Kildare champions scored from play, and on a day when the conditions were slippy under foot and the ball was the proverbial bar of soap, the physicality of the Louth club proved to be decisive. A commentator from a local radio station described the first half action as 'high octane', and while that rang through to a certain extent, it was merely a way of dressing up a dire 33 minutes of football. The fact there was no point from play for the first 32 minutes of the game was indicative of the nature of the encounter, and Sarsfields probably made more mistakes in that first half of football than they did in the previous two years en route to back-to-back county titles. The constant fumbling of possession in the middle third of the field was the most striking aspect of the first half, with a number of players on both sides guilty of lacking any cohesion when going forward. Despite the low-scoring first half, which ended 0-4 to 0-2 in favour of the Louth men, it took just over a minute for the first point to sail between the uprights as Conor Finnegan gave the crowd an early glimpse of his free-taking prowess by slotting over a 40-metre free. Sarsfields own marksman, Ray Cahill knocked over a similarly impressive effort at the other end, and though both players traded frees over the next five minutes of play, the game entered a lull period where neither side managed a score for 10 minutes. Sarsfields were struggling to get their inside forward line into the game, with the likes of Ben McCormack and Dan Nea largely becoming peripheral figures. The Sean O'Mahonys defense was highly impressive however, and when the ball did come in they more often than not dealt well. A free from Finnegan came in the 26th minute, before David Dowling mercifully posted the first point from play on the stroke of half-time to give his side a two-point lead. Sarsfields manager John Crofton would have plenty to ponder with his players during the half-time, but the main message he would have been imposing upon his men was to keep the head and try and play their way into the game. They looked to be starting off the second half brightly, but some wayward shooting and a lack of killer instinct hurt them during the opening exchanges. When Finnegan kicked over another brilliant free and Stephen Kilcoyne landed his side's second point from play of the day it looked like Sean O'Mahonys were well in control. Then came the game's crucial score as Caoimghin McDonnell gave the ball away to David Dowling inside the Sarsfields 45', and with the defence out of position, Stephen Fisher bounded down on goal before supplying a clinical finish that sent the Louth men into a 1-6 to 0-2 lead with six minutes gone in the second half. Matters worsened for Sarsfields when Gary White was given a straight red card for nudging his head towards O'Mahonys midfielder Conor Martin, and with a numerical disadvantage and a massive mountain to climb on the scoreboard, it looked like Sarsfields were down and out. They put the shoulder to the wheel however, and six points in succession left an unlikely comeback seemingly possible as they managed to narrow the gap to one point with four minutes to go. The main instigator of that comeback was minor footballer Cian Costigan, who put in a fabulous performance after being brought in from the bench after 43 minutes. It was another substitute, Alan Smith, that got Sarsfields' first point from play as he curled over a close range point, before Costigan showed great strength and composure to set up Ben McCormack for a score shortly after. The massive support that travelled from Newbridge began to row in behind their side at this stage, and points from Cahill and Smith left just a goal between the teams. Conor Hartley then strode forward to land an exceptional point from the right wing, before Cahill narrowed the gap to one with a brilliant long range free. It looked like they were the moving force in this game, but the comeback was cut short as late points from Ben McLaughlin and Stephen Kilcoyne secured a famous win for the Louth men. Scorers for Sean O'Mahonys: C Finnegan 0-4(4f), S Fisher 1-0, S Kilcoyne 0-2, B McLaughlin and D Dowling 0-1 each. Scorers for Sarsfields: R Cahill 0-4(4f), A Smith 0-2, B McCormack and C Hartley 0-1 each. Sean O'Mahonys B Traynor; J Connolly(B Mackin 56mins), R Byrne, M Clarke; K Murphy, J O'Brien, C Martin; L Dullaghan, S Brennan; C Finnegan, B McLaughlin, S Fisher; K McLaughlin(N McLaughlin 40mins(P O'Brien bc 49mins), C Crawley(D Dowling 17mins), S Kilcoyne. Sarsfields A O'Brien; C Duffy(J Healy 36mins), S Ryan, C Hartley; C Tiernan, D McDonnell, C McInerney Aspell; C McDonnell, G White; R Fitzgibbon, R Cahill, C Kavanagh; D Nea(C Costigan 43mins), B McCormack, R Connor(A Smith ht).