'When you win having not played well, it's a brilliant sign' - Castlelyons show grit to claim Croker spot
JOB DONE: Colm Spillane, Keith O'Leary and Barry Murphy were delighted to overcome a closely contested battle with Tooreen. Picture: Ger Rogers
Colm Spillane didn’t half believe us when we informed him that he was Castlelyons’ sole scorer from play across the opening 47 minutes of this All-Ireland semi-final.
That the centre-back’s pair of white flags, struck inside the opening eight minutes, was all Castlelyons managed from play for more than three quarters of Saturday’s contest illustrates how off-colour they were and how difficult they found their task.
The above stat reflects well on Spillane. Not so in the case of the Castlelyons collective, most especially his forward colleagues.
Mind you, that Castlelyons eventually succeeded in finding the road to Croker, despite no score from play for a 45-minute period, reflects glowingly of every man in green and gold.
“That's an unbelievable stat,” Spillane said of their scoring difficulties.
“We had 3-11 by half-time in the Munster final, and probably 3-7 or 3-8 of that came from play. Today, we didn't click. Scoring-wise, we didn't click. They were very defensive and hard to play against.
“When you win having not played well, it is a brilliant sign.”
Entering the 48th minute of this error-strewn and slightly claustrophobic All-Ireland intermediate club semi-final, Castlelyons trailed the Connacht champions by 0-9 to 0-7. They’d been behind since the 20th minute.
The very same as their aforementioned Munster final victory, it was Colm’s brother, Dubai-based Anthony, who nudged the umpire in the direction of the green flag. His 48th-minute goal here was arguably more important than the three he grabbed last time out.
Collecting a length-of-the-field delivery from goalkeeper Jack Barry, Spillane’s initial effort was blocked. His second attempt, via the boot, was shoveled across the white paint.
The semi-final’s sole green flag saw Anthony become only his team’s second scorer from open fare. More importantly, it moved them into a 1-7 to 0-9 lead.
Alan Fenton (‘65) and Oscar Hallihan followed with points to stretch their advantage out to three. Castlelyons had finally found some rhythm.
Tooreen would twice pare the deficit to the minimum late on. Fergal Boland won free after free. Castlelyons defenders conceded yellow card after yellow card. But no equaliser could Tooreen engineer.
Given the manic and disrupting workrate of the Mayo men throughout, which was the foundation of their 0-7 to 0-5 interval lead, a fourth All-Ireland semi-final defeat in six seasons fed full-time devastation.
Keeping East Cork noses in front during those fraught closing minutes were Anthony Spillane and James Kearney.
It was the third time from their last four outings where the winning margin of Noel Furlong’s side was four points or less. A team that had developed an unwanted reputation for coming out on the wrong side of such tight squeezes in recent years is now repeatedly on the far side of the fence.
“Coming down the line, we had the confidence that we had won the big games this year,” Spillane continued.
“We were on the wrong side of a lot of close games over the years. When you are staying in it and winning, everyone is confident and trusting of each other. That belief is massive and we definitely have it now.”
It’s a belief they will take to Croke Park for an All-Ireland final early in the New Year.
“It is going to be unbelievable. The amount of people you'd have coming up to you every day in the village, young and old, everyone is just so delighted (with this journey). Having an All-Ireland final to look forward to will really shorten the winter.
“After we won the county, and even though it was three games away, it was Croke Park we wanted to get to. It is going to be massive. It will be a privilege to go out there on January 13 in an All-Ireland final representing Castlelyons.”
On that occasion, Spillane will be hoping for no such unusual scoring stats.
: A Fenton (0-6, 0-5 frees, 0-1 ‘65); A Spillane (1-2); C Spillane (0-2); O Hallihan, J Kearney (0-1 each).
: S Boland (0-8, 0-7 frees); O Greally, E Delaney, F Boland, L Lavin, K Feeney (0-1 each).
: J Barry; N O’Leary, L Sexton, C Barry; D Spillane, C Spillane, J O’Leary; A Fenton, J Kearney; K O’Leary, L Doocey, B Murphy; O Hallihan, A Spillane, D Morrison.
Subs: C McCarthy for Doocey (36); S Moroney for J O’Leary (38); B O’Donovan for D Spillane (temporary 47-50); B O’Donovan for Morrison (62); P Roche for K O’Leary (65).
: B Douglas; M Morley, C Hession, S Coyne; D Kenny, G Nolan, J Boyle; D Huane, S Kenny; O Greally, L Lavin, F Boland; E Delaney, S Boland, K Feeney.
Subs: S Regan for Feeney (40); B Morley for Delaney (46); J Cassidy for Kenny (52).
: C McDonald (Antrim).
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