Champions St Mary's crush Aughawillan in scary display of dominance

In a performance as scary as it was coldly clinical and ruthless, champions St Mary's Kiltoghert flexed their muscles to brush aside the challenge of a battling but outclassed Aughawillan in the second round of the Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC on Saturday evening in Pairc Naomh Mhuire.

There had been whispers that St Mary's were struggling to find their form in recent weeks and Aughawillan drew with them in the last game of the League but on their home turf, the champions gave a display that will surely have caused a few tremors in the rest of the competition as they cruised to a 17 point victory.

Aughawillan, as they always do, went toe to toe with the Carrick men - they were brave, they were physical, they hit hard and they appear to have unearthed another gem in Tom Plunkett but the truth was that St Mary's ran them ragged, keeping control of the ball for long periods, running them over and back across the field before their immense strength in depth was utilised to deadly effect in the second half.

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Former Leitrim captain Micheal McWeeney was the first of five subs off the bench in the second half with the Farrell brothers, Daire & Brian, joining him along with David O'Connell and Emmet Regan while they started without midfield rock James McGrail and the scary news is that Paul Keaney is due back in the country this week.

The first half demonstrated their prowess - they swarmed over any Aughawillan man in possession in a manner reminiscent of the great Willies teams, harrying, hassling and forcing turnovers while the scores seemed to flow over from everywhere. And they kept the scores flowing as Aughawillan paid the price for some poor finishing, particularly in the second half.

With the halftime score standing at 1-10 t0 0-3 thanks to a Jack Casey goal in added time, it was hard to see beyond the home side at that stage and if the scoring rate slowed in the second half, and it certainly did, St Mary's simply ran Aughawillan ragged before the dams finally broke in the ten minutes with Alan Flynn's side lashing in 2-2 in the closing stages.

Scarily, St Mary's have room to improve - they kicked a fair few wides, lost balls in transition and looked a little bereft of ambition at times during the second half but they seem to be gathering steam nicely with two wins from two.

There are mitigating circumstances for Aughawillan - with their small pick, they cannot afford the losses of Gary Plunkett and Rory McTague who are out for the year and with their team still backboned by the stars who won the County title in 2014, time doesn't stand still, no matter how great they have been.

Mark Diffley set up Jack Casey for the first score inside 25 seconds but after hitting a wide, Morgan Quinn tied the scores on three minutes from a free after a foul on Mark Plunkett. Sam Barnes shot wide for the home side, Niall Stringer and Tom Plunkett missed chances before Oisin Bohan converted a free after a foul on Conor Hackett.

Aughawillan's Mark Plunkett launches a shot under pressure from St Mary's Nicholas McWeeney Picture: Willie Donnellan

Bohan would add another free on 11 minutes, Sam Barnes fouled after a turnover, before Conor Hackett neatly scored from the corner two minutes later. From the kickout, the voracious St Mary's pressure turned over the ball and Ben Guckian swept the ball over the bar to leave four points between the teams.

Cian Singleton then won the kickout leading to a Sam Barnes point before Barry Prior played a one-two before curling a lovely shot over the Mary's crossbar on 16 minutes. St Mary's wasted two good chances, Pearce Dolan left a shot short before a fabulous run from Singleton, embellished by a lovely sidestep, led to a second point for Sam Barnes.

Nicholas McWeeney swapped points with Tom Plunkett but St Mary's were pulling away with further points from Casey and a Bohan free before they applied the coup de grace in added time. Casey raced through on the break with Aughawillan keeper Colin Maguire making a great save but Mary's recovered the ball and got it back to Casey who made no mistake at the second time of asking.

That left St Mary's with a commanding 1-10 to 0-3 halftime lead, Bohan extending the lead from a free after a foul on Diffley. Micheal McWeeney replaced Mark Lenehan booked in the second half, with the game becoming scrappy and disjointed. Tom Plunkett scored a lovely effort from the corner on 35 minutes before adding a free four minutes later in what would turn out to be their last score of the game.

The game became increasingly fractured and it took another 14 minutes before the next score although sub Brian Farrell was desperately unlucky as his powerful shot rebounded out at least 25 yards after it smacked off the far post. Oisin Bohan ended the scoring drought from a free after great work from Casey, Brian Farrell and sub David O'Connell.

Brian Farrell did get his goal as he reacted quickly to a half-blocked Casey shot and then bulled his way through two defenders before blasting to the net from close range with less than five minutes to go. A minute later, it was goal number three as David O'Connell was found in behind the Aughawillan defence, he was pulled down and penalty awarded.

Colin Maguire made a superb save to deny Oisin Bohan's initial effort but the ball fell kindly for Bohan to lash into an open net. All that remained was a red card for Aughawillan sub Michael O'Haire and a Bohan free after a foul on Daire Farrell as the champions cruised to victory.

All square as 13 man Fenagh hauled in by Mohill

MOHILL 2-7 FENAGH ST CAILLINS 2-7

ST MARY’S KILTOGHERT

Scorers: Oisin Bohan 1-6. 5f; Jack Casey 1-2; Brian Farrell 1-0; Nicholas McWeeney, Conor Hackett, Jack Barnes, Sam Barnes & Ben Guckian 0-1 each

Team: Sean Reynolds, Mark Lenehan, Mark Diffley, Conor Farrell, Nicholas McWeeney, Adam Reynolds, Diarmuid Kelleher; Gavin Reynolds; Conor Hackett; Ben Guckian, Cian Singleton; Jack Barnes; Oisin Bohan, Jack Casey; Sam Barnes. Subs: Micheal McWeeney for Lenehan (33); David O’Connell for J Barnes (48); Brian Farrell for Hackett (50); Daire Farell for Guckian (54); Emmet Regan for Singleton (57)

AUGHAWILLAN

Scorers: Tom Plunkett 0-3, 1f; Barry Prior & Morgan Quinn (f) 0-1 each

Team: Colin Maguire; Daire Maxwell, Noel Plunkett; Declan McGovern, Niall Stringer, Mark Plunkett; Michael Quinn Quinn; Fergal McTague, Pearce Dolan; Barry Prior, Stephen Gilheaney, Christy Prior; Morgan Quinn; Tom Plunkett; Ciaran Gilheaney. Subs: Reece Maher for Morgan Quinn (38); Brian Stringer for C Prior (48); Conor McGovern & Michael O’Haire for B Prior & D McGovern (54)

Referee: Mark McCloskey