Milltown snatched late victory to leave Caherlistrane with huge regrets

By BILLY COSS Milltown .1-10 Caherlistrane .1-9 FINE MARGINS have separated these two clubs over the past two seasons and Saturday eveningâ€â„¢s clash at Tuam Stadium proved no different as Michael Martin converted a wind-assisted 45-metre free deep into added time to decide matters in Milltownâ€â„¢s favour against a Caherlistrane side that had looked the most probable winner for long spells. Given how unlikely it seemed for so long, John Concannonâ€â„¢s Milltown team will take a lot from this hard-earned victory especially on a weekend when several title contenders faltered and others came through relatively untested. The last two meetings were high on tension but low on quality, but this match surpassed them both. Caherlistrane held the upper hand until Milltown hit the front with Mark Hehirâ€â„¢s goal on 52 minutes but they had recovered to draw level until being denied by the gameâ€â„¢s last kick. It was Caherlistraneâ€â„¢s sixth straight defeat by Milltown in Championship  football â€â€ and the third in as many years â€â€ but unlike the past two years, they still have the opportunity to get their campaign back on track in next monthâ€â„¢s qualifier meeting with St Jamesâ€â„¢s.[private] Plenty of interest centred on James Kavanaghâ€â„¢s first Championship appearance in Milltown colours since completing his transfer from Ballymore Eustace. Lining out at centre half-forward, the 28-year-old kicked two points from play, was fouled for couple of more converted frees and his overall use of possession was superb, especially when the outcome was on the line late on. On this evidence, Kildareâ€â„¢s loss is certainly Milltownâ€â„¢s gain.   The first half was what youâ€â„¢d expect, given the level of familiarity between the two teams. Nothing was spared in terms of commitment and intensity and both teams put huge numbers and energy into defence. There was no shortage of important individual duels, either. John Martin and Dermot Forde were assigned the man-marking duties on Caherlistraneâ€â„¢s most potent finishers, Eric Monahan and Cormac Bane, at one end. At the other, Rory Glynn picked up Kavanagh while Stephen Burke and Noel Judge were tasked with keeping tabs on Milltownâ€â„¢s two-man inside line of Michael Martin and Mark Hehir. Bane and Monahan may have struggled for space as Milltown regularly flooded their backline but their finishing from frees was of the highest order. All of Caherlistraneâ€â„¢s first-half scores came from placed balls and following Eanna Glynnâ€â„¢s superbly finished goal in the 29th minute, after excellent approach work by Ronan Conneely, Larry Baneâ€â„¢s team held a 1-6 to 0-5 interval lead after playing with the elements. Milltown made little in-roads into that deficit in the third quarter but their challenge was energized by three points in as many minutes from the Hehir brothers, Mark and Seán, and a towering Diarmaid Blake effort that dropped just over Eanna Baneâ€â„¢s crossbar. The match had suddenly burst into life. A rasping Michael Martin shot had also come back off a post but Caherlistrane werenâ€â„¢t so fortunate when Mark Hehir broke a long delivery into Mike Martinâ€â„¢s path, took the return pass and finished a match-turning goal for Milltown. From four points down at half-time, Milltown had recovered to move 1-9 to 1-7 ahead and with Darren Mullahy storming into the match they held all the momentum with less than ten minutes remaining.  Cormac Bane continued to be Caherlistraneâ€â„¢s main threat in attack and reduced the margin to a solitary point to set up thrilling finish. Eanna Glynn, their only scorer from play, popped up with the equalising score in the first of four added minutes and it all pointed towards extra-time until, with time almost up, Michael Martin took responsibility after a foul on Seán Blake to strike the decisive score for Milltown.  Milltown: C. Nolan; D. Forde, J. Martin, D. Hernon; J. Hynes, D. Blake (0-1), D. Mullahy (0-1); Cathal Blake, D. Brennan; S. Blake, J. Kavanagh (0-2), Ciarán Blake; M. Martin (0-2, frees), S. Hehir (0-1), M. Hehir (1-3, two frees). Sub: B. McGrath for J. Martin, 56 mins.  Caherlistrane: E. Bane; N. Judge, C. Monahan, S. Burke; E. Glynn (1-1), R. Glynn, P. Madden; B. Murphy, S. Bohan; C. Murphy, O. Oâ€â„¢Brien, S. Oâ€â„¢Brien; R. Conneely, C. Bane (0-4, all frees), E. Monahan (0-4, all frees). Subs: B. Lee, for Madden, 46 mins; B. McCabe, for C. Murphy, 52 mins; P. Madden, for Burke inj., 60 mins. Referee: Frank Kinneen. Herald Sport Man of the Match: Darren Mullahy (Milltown). [/private]