#dromard

Irish Auto Trail-Killeen East (County Laois) to Clonmore (County Tipperary) https://youtu.be/oCapN7vm3II This Irish auto trail explores a short stretch of the R433 between Killeen East in County Laois and ends at Clonmore in County Tipperary.

Longford Slashers claim the 2013 Longford County Football Title

As the clock wound down on the last minute and a half of the Peter Hanley Motors senior football final, Slashers held possession, putting together a necklace of passes that frustrated their Dromard opponents with their poise and control. This was a snapshot of way they managed the overall game and although there was always a chance that the North Longford men could snatch a victory at the death, on balance, Slashers deserved their crown.

By Thomas Lyons in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park

Two of the most consistent sides of the last decades gave a thrilling display that was made all the more exciting by the 55th minute goal by Dromard sub Declan Mimnagh. Mimnagh made the last few minutes of the game an engaging spectacle for the crowd, however few but the odd die hard Dromard supporter would have seen a different outcome.

Early exchanges pointed to a nervous tension on the part of both teams. The greasy ball and coupled with the erratic wind made it a tough game for both sides.

Although the wind favored the blues in the opening period, their first two early efforts went wide. The difficulty of the breeze was noticeable in Damien Sheridan's kick outs. The first score came in the sixth minute after a high ball in by Peter Foy set up a contest between Mark Smith and Sheridan. The Dromard keeper won that one but one of his team-mates was a bit heavy handed and when referee Fergal Kelly awarded the free, Colin Smith pointed.

Slashers were wining primary possession in the middle of the park and this gave them the opportunity to play the game in the Dromard half. This dominance paid dividend when Foy split through the centre of the Dromard defence, he passed off to Marc Diffely who's shot was saved by Sheridan. Foy picked up on the breaking ball and looked to be trying a chip, but the net rattled and slashers had 1-01 on the board with 11 minutes gone.

Slashers continued to contain the opposition in their half. Ronan McEntire got his team out of the blocks and settled down the men in blue and gold with a fine point. When James Martin spotted Cian Mimnagh he delivered a perfect pass before the corner forward dipped his head, turned and knocked it over.

The game went through a scrappy phase as the wind interfered with the flow. Colin Smith defied the blustery wind and extended his side's score to 1-02 from a free. As the half progressed a little needle crept in.

Although Martin could not take account of the wind when awarded a free in the 20th minute, he was on the mark a minute later to bring Dromard's tally to 0-3. Foy's work on and off the ball saw him add two, before Colin Smith added another thanks to a free 40 metres out,

Much of the talk at the break was of how far Slashers could go in Leinster. The score of 1-05 to 0-03 and that fact that Slashers seemed to be in control would have suggested that this could only end one way. However the second half turned this on its head.

Francie McGee opened the account at the start of the second. When Martin Nevin went on a run through the Dromard defence it looked ominous, he was shepherded by David Pettit. The ref however adjudged the marshaling was a little on the rough side and Colin Smith pointed the resultant free.

Things looked to be getting worse for the Dromard side when an error saw Mark Smith bear down on goal. The corner forward tried the inside of his boot, only to see the ball come off the post. In seconds the ball was at the other end of the pitch and the threat posed by Martin saw the Slashers defence concede a free rather than a score. McGee tacked on the point to leave the score 1-07 to 0-05.

Scores from Mimnagh and Martin reduced the gap to one goal, but there still seemed to be an assurance to Slashers. Mark Diffley answered the opponents rally when he ran down the sideline, before cutting inside to make enough room to score a point. Again Mimnagh added one to shorten the gap.

In another of his searing runs Niall Mulligan cut a swath through the Dromard defence and pointed. Fifteen minutes left in the game and a McGee point brought it to 0-09 to 1-08. A Colin Smith point was followed by one from David Sheridan to put Slashers four ahead. All the while Dromard were living off scraps, they did not have enough possession to pose a real threat to the opposition's lead.

However the speedy play of the North Longford men gave them a lifeline. A long ball played on the ground found McGee, the full forward flicked on to sub Declan Mimnagh who juggled, steadied himself and planted the ball in the bottom right of Colm Farrell's goal to leave just one point in it.

The tension in Glennon Brother's Pears park was turned up to 10. Mark Smith steadied his side a little when he put two points between the sides in the 57th minute. As the clock wound down things heated up, but Slashers still seemed the more composed. With three minutes of time added to play they played keep ball and gave the impression that they were a team comfortable in possession.