Longwood’s Intermediate Football Championship journey came to an end on Thursday evening after an absorbing tussle with Oldcastle in Paddy O’Brien Park.

A last ditch two-pointer from Pat Crawley was enough to give Oldcastle a share of the spoils, securing their passage to the knockout stages.  Credit to the young forward; his impact on the game had been curtailed due to some excellent marking but he took on the responsibility when needed.

Unfortunately, a draw, combined with Drumbaragh’s narrow victory over Curraha, meant that the door was closed on Longwood’s chances of advancing to the next stage.

It was rough justice on Longwood.  They were a little sluggish in the opening stages of the game, understandable given that they had just four days to recover, rest and prepare after their most recent championship game while their opponents had an entire fortnight to do likewise.  Surely, in the future, our fixture planners could grant dual clubs at least 7 days between championship games.  Anything less is disrespectful to players who put their bodies on the line, week after week.

Longwood did eventually settle, a Mickey Burke point drawing them level after six minutes.  But gaining possession around the middle third was proving difficult.  Oldcastle’s midfield pairing were crashing the ball and their team mates were mopping up the majority of the breaks.

The game lacked rhythm in the early stages, not helped by the fact that the referee’s whistle was heard far too often.  In a do-or-die championship fixture, players should be given a little leeway, obviously within the rules, in the early stages.  Issuing a number of yellow cards in the opening ten minutes doesn’t make for a good game.  A quiet word of warning to the players would serve the game better.

Oldcastle were dominating the possession stakes but Longwood, displaying their trademark tenacity and doggedness were hanging in there.  Despite trailing 0-6 to 0-2 after sixteen minutes, they dug in and started to climb.  A Ryan Moore point was quickly followed by a booming two-point free from Billy Hogan and the deficit was down to one.  

A late exchange of points from the Sheridans - Pearse from Oldcastle countered by Sean from Longwood – saw Oldcastle take a 0-7 to 0-6 lead to the dressing rooms.

With thirty minutes to play, everything was up for grabs.

Oldcastle were first to add to their tally after the break, courtesy of an Oran Mulvanny 45.

Longwood needed a response and it came swiftly.  Sean Coloe, playing through the pain of an ankle ligament injury, grabbed possession and took on the blue wall of defenders who couldn’t prevent his progress and eventually pulled him to the ground as he bore down on goals.  The whistle sounded, a quick consultation with his umpires and the referee awarded a penalty to Longwood.  

Ryan Moore stepped up and rattled the net with an ice-cool finish.  Longwood led for the first time.  But still twenty five minutes to go.

Credit to Oldcastle, they responded strongly to this setback.  They reeled off three successive points before a two-point free from Oran Mulvanny gave them a seemingly unassailable four-point lead with thirteen minutes left on the clock.  

Trailing by four and with Damien Healy succumbing to injury (although he would soon return) Longwood’s hopes may have looked forlorn, but the men in white refused to yield.  It was time for leaders to stand up and Longwood are blessed with many.  A Gavin Griffith point was quickly followed by another from Sean Coloe and the deficit was halved.

Olcastle’s lead was soon extended to three points, Mulvanny kicking yet another 45 after an excellent Kevin Maguire save.

Mickey Burke punched another hole in the lead with an excellent point from play before Billy Hogan kicked a monster free, the ensuing orange flag indicating to all that the scores were now level.  

With three minutes to play, Longwood won a free which was calmly converted by Ryan Moore.  

The next five minutes were jam-packed with tension.  Both teams gained and lost possession as they looked for the crucial next score.  As the game entered the fourth minute of injury time, Sean Coloe kicked his second point and victory looked to be within Longwood’s grasp.

To the surprise of the crowd, the final whistle was not forthcoming.  Oldcastle won a free from the kickout and within seconds the ball was in the hands of Pat Crawley who kicked the equalising score with the last kick of the game.

Cruel on Longwood.  

The pill was made to taste even more bitter when word filtered through that Drumbaragh had squeezed past Curraha in the other game in Group B.  The final group standings saw Longwood finish in third place.   Avoiding a relegation play-off offered scant consolation when a quarter-final place had seemed so close.   Such are the margins of championship football.

Huge credit to the players and management.  Plagued by injuries, many of them of the long-term variety, Longwood displayed amazing heart, resilience and togetherness throughout the championship.  And Thursday night was no exception.  To a man, they gave their all.  The work rate of Harry Hogan typified the Longwood spirit.  Wearing the No.11 jersey, Hogan worked tirelessly throughout and restricted his direct opponent, Jason Scully, to a largely peripheral role.  Captain Niall Mulvey was equally impressive, shackling dangerman Pearse Sheridan and keeping him scoreless from open play.

Longwood’s substitutes all made telling contributions when introduced, Harry Leigh and Tomás O’Brien being particularly prominent.  

Longwood: Kevin Maguire, Sean Carpenter, Niall Mulvey (Capt), Dominic Finnegan, Brian Stagg, Mickey Burke (0-2), Ciaran Sheridan, Billy Hogan (0-4), Damien Healy, Gavin Griffith (0-1), Harry Hogan, Sean Sheridan (0-1), Ryan Moore (1-3), Sean Coloe (0-2), Adrian Maguire.  Subs: Tomás O’Brien for Sean Carpenter, Tadhg Connolly for Adrian Maguire, Harry Leigh for Brian Stagg, Anthony Healy for Damien Healy, Damien Healy for Gavin Griffith, Ben McLoughlin, Conor M Dixon, Cian O’Sullivan, Coyle O’Brien, Jason Kerrigan, Cian Colgan, Joe Stenson.

The season ends in disappointment but when the dust eventually settles Longwood will take solace from the fact that they have shown considerable improvement on recent years.  And when we look at the strength of the clubs facing into a relegation battle, the savage competitiveness of the Intermediate championship is all too clear to see.  

The introduction of Dominic Finnegan, Sean Carpenter, Harry Leigh, Conor M Dixon, Cian Colgan and Tadhg Connolly to the panel this year has given an enormous boost to the group.  We look forward to seeing these boys flourish further next season.  With more young players set to graduate to adult football next year, Longwood can look to the future with optimism.  

Well done lads.  You have given us tremendous value throughout the season.  Club and community have been well served.

Maigh Dearmhaí abú!!  🤍🖤🤍🖤🏁🏁🏁