Corofin cruise into Galway semis while Maigh Cuilinn pass stern test

Sun, 13 Sep, 2020 - 19:19

John Fallon

Maigh Cuilinn’s credentials as the team most likely to challenge Corofin’s dominance in Galway were severely tested by St James’ before the eventually took control of affairs in a gripping quarter-final at Pearse Stadium.

And they are now just 60 minutes away from their first county final since their sole appearance in 1977 but they will have to oust the most prolific winners of the competition - Tuam Stars - in the semi-final if they are to achieve that.

And on the other side of the draw Mountbellew/Moylough, having lost three finals in the past six years to Corofin, have been handed the task of ending the reign of the All-Ireland champions.

Maigh Cuilinn knew they would have to dig deep when goals from Owen Teagle and Eoin Concannon helped their opponents lead by 2-5 to 0-6 at the break.

Antrim player Owen Gallagher hit three points to keep Maigh Cuilinn in touch against a St James’ side who were superbly led by experienced county player Paul Conroy.

But with Tom Clarke coming into the game at midfield and Gareth Bradshaw and David Wynne shoring up the half-back line line, Maigh Cuilinn hit back with the Kelly brothers, Sean and Paul, leading the way along with skipper Dessie Conneely.

An Evan Boyce point for St James’ was followed by Maigh Cuilinn hitting the next seven to edge 0-13 to 2-6 ahead going into the final quarter and while the sides were level three more times, it was Maigh Cuilinn who finished strongly and Paul Kelly sealed the win with a late goal to advance by 1-17 to 2-9.

They will now meet a Tuam Stars side for who sub Ben O’Connell was the hero as he kicked a winner deep in the dying moments at the end of extra-time to snatch a 0-17 to 0-16 over Bearna.

He had edged them ahead two minutes earlier but the prospect of penalties loomed when Bearna skipper Tom Curran levelled the sides for the sixth time in a contest which really burst to life in extra-time.

Tuam Stars led 0-9 to 0-3 at the break having played with the wind, with Brian Mannion and Jamie Murphy leading the way up front.

Oisin Gormally led the fightback for Bearna in the second-half with Donal Ó Cualain sending the game to extra-time.

Cormac McWalter steadied Tuam Stars with some excellent scores but the introduction of veteran DD Ó Flatharta lifted Bearna but in the end they were thwarted by O’Connell after a fine contest.

Mountbellew/Moylough, managed by former All Star Val Daly, encountered few obstacles in advancing to the last four with a decisive 2-13 to 1-5 win over Killannin.

Mountbellew/Moylough led by 1-7 to 1-1 at the break, having played with the breeze with Eoin Finnerty getting the goal after 13 minutes and Barry McHugh kicking 0-5. Killannin were reduced to 14 men when Ronan Caldwell was sent off for an off the ball incident in first-half stoppage time but they got a glimmer of hope when Patrick Sweeney set up Joseph O’Flaherty for a goal. Mark Mannion extended Mountbellew/Moylough’s lead with a couple of points after the restart and a comeback never looked like being mounted by Killannin with Patrick Kelly sealing the win with a neat goal in the closing stages of a one-sided contest.

But Corofin showed why they are the team to beat as they continued to extend all sorts of records as they advanced to the quarter-finals with a 1-18 to 0-9 win over Salthill/Knocknacarra on Saturday.

Kevin O’Brien remains the manager who doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a Galway SFC match. He stepped up from being a selector to take over as manager in 2016 and after four county titles they are now unbeaten in 33 Galway championship games under his charge. They were never threatened by a Salthill/Knocknacarra side managed by former Mayo forward Anthony Finnerty, whose son Robert was one of the few bright lights for a youthful side whose other main threat was current minor Tomo Culhane.

All Star hurler Daithi Burke, who is captain of the Turloughmore team who next weekend will try to reach their first Galway SHC final in 30 years, got the only goal of the game after coming on as a sub for the final quarter.

By then Corofin were well on their way to extending their unbeaten run in Galway to 49 games, having led by 0-6 to 0-5 at the break having played against the wind.

Gary Sice, with a dozen county medals already in his collection, led the attack as they dissected the seasiders to advance to their 13th semi-final in a row with scoring threats coming from all the pitch.