Finnerty and Burke deliver winning scores for Salthill

Salthill/Knocknacarra 3-10

Milltown 1-13

SALTHILL/Knocknacarra dumped Milltown out of the race for the Galway senior football championship at Tuam Stadium on Sunday evening, recording a memorable victory thanks to deadlock-breaking scores deep into stoppage time from substitute Tom Burke and teenage sensation Robert Finnerty.

To put Finnerty’s inspired second half performance into perspective, when Salthill/Knocknacarra won their last senior title in 2012, the forward was starring for the club’s U-14 side as they captured the county Féile title. Incredibly, the city side only had three starters from that Frank Fox Cup winning side on show on Sunday, in the shape of Finian Hanley, Conor Halloran, and Conor Healy.

They provided the solid spine around which Val Daly has been able to bring in a raft of talented youngsters, and an ageing Milltown side struggled to cope with them for large parts. Granted, the North Galway side’s undoubted class surfaced when the game was in the melting pot and they hauled themselves back from a three-point deficit with ten minutes of normal time to play.

There were still six minutes of injury time remaining when Fergal Nicholson levelled matters and the tide seemed to have turned against the Seasiders. Wave after wave of Milltown attacks had eaten away at their resolve, and it appeared inevitable that the 2007 finalists would find a way to score again and forego the need for extra time.

But when Cathal Blake lost possession on 65 minutes, appealing in vain for a free in a scoring position, Salthill calmly worked the ball up the stand side and Andrew Butler, Barry Kelly, and Tom Burke combined intelligently before Burke let fly with an effort that sailed high and true over the bar. Milltown were now desperate and left gaps which were exposed a minute later when another substitute, Shane Maughan, fielded a high ball on the edge of the square and offloaded to Finnerty, who calmly drove to the net.

It was a breathtaking finale to an absorbing contest and leaves Milltown now in the unfamiliar position of having to avoid the relegation trapdoor. They made far too many unforced errors on Sunday which knocked them out of their rhythm and allowed Salthill to build a winning total despite only scoring five times in the extended second period.

Milltown had defeated Salthill/Knocknacarra in league action earlier this year and went into the game as slight favourites, but Daly’s side had shown a capability to score goals against Corofin in the opening round. Twice in the opening quarter they went close to netting as Paul Butler caused havoc in the Milltown full-back line, and the breakthrough eventually came on 13 minutes.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.