Dillon Matthews took off like a wild hyena, hitting the Cusack Park pitch in spots and if you thought he was going to slow down, if you thought he was going to pull the hand-brake or even lay it off, you had another thing coming.
The Mullingar Shamrocks corner back scored what they're calling one of the goals of the century in the Westmeath senior football championship on Saturday night. It was a goal so good that you couldn't even pull them up for exaggerating.
We hear of corner backs kicking points and scoring goals the whole time these days, such is the fluid and position-ignorant nature of the modern game, but Dillon Matthews did not find himself in scoring territory, he did not find himself on the end of a flowing team move. He found himself about ten yards up from his corner back base and from there, when he ran onto a hand-pass from his fellow defender, the marauding mad-man did the rest himself.
Matthews put the foot down to leave the first tracker chasing shadows and across the way, midfielders didn't even have the time to think about tearing after him. It was already too late. One gallant half forward made a spirited burst and even though he stayed with him, he couldn't get close enough to him. Matthews, like a steam-train in full-flight, was burning oil at this stage to the extent that the referee tripped over himself trying to keep up.
The best was yet to come.
The run was spectacular, it was like Michael Donnellan in '98 but the finish, under pressure, off the left and into the goalie's top corner was even better. More importantly, it was a goal that inspired the Shamrocks to a four point win over Killucan and, indeed, it was a goal that nobody present in Cusack Park will ever forget.
https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1434480297781993474
Elsewhere, as club action kicked into gear all over the country, Clare senior hurler Mark Rodgers scored a masterful point for Scarriff after leaving his hurley behind him.
https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1434415674735071232
Buff Egan was up and down, he was all around the place from Clare to Waterford to Kilkenny but of all his brilliant coverage over the weekend, there was nothing as dramatic as the goal he watched in the south-east. Ballysaggart, home of the Bennett brothers, looked destined for glory until deep into injury time when Mark O'Brien broke their hearts with a composed drop-shot into the top corner.
https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1434478625940819971
It's good to have it back!
