Caherlistrane come up trumps in tight affair

Caherlistrane 0-17

Moycullen 0-14

CAHERLISTRANE have been arguably the most exciting team to watch in this year’s senior football championship so far, and their victory over Moycullen didn’t disappoint those who were there last Sunday at a sun-soaked Pearse Stadium.

The winners had scored 1-14, 3-12 and 2-18 in their three championship games to date, and Moycullen had impressed when beating Kilconly and St. James’, so this encounter had the potential to be the most exciting of the weekend. When the dust has settled on the 2016 club title race, this preliminary quarter-final will surely be remembered as one of its finest games.

Of course, we are not privy to just how much of an influence Liam Sammon is having within the squad, but Caherlistrane manager Neil McHugh certainly seems to have made a shrewd call bringing the former Galway manager on board in an advisory role. Although they tend to lull as a team in phases of games, Caherlistrane will be very confident going into their quarter-final fixture with Salthill/Knocknacarra.

Moycullen managed to nullify Cormac Bane, Oisin O’Brien and Ronan Conneely in the first period, but the trio didn’t stay quiet in the second half, contributing all ten of Caherlistrane’s points in the half to overturn a 0-9 to 0-7 half-time deficit. While Caherlistrane’s ace forwards did the damage in the scoring stakes, it was the club’s county minor midfielder who shone brightest.

Cian Darcy scored two first half points, but didn’t start at midfield, and when he went to the middle before half-time, things started to turn Caherlistrane’s way. After his recent bout of glandular fever, it is good for Galway minor manager Steven Joyce to see Darcy get another game under his belt ahead of the All-Ireland final meeting with Kerry.

It was interesting to observe the contrast in the displays of the two county minors on show. The minor captain Dessie Conneely also started, and although he did strike over a peach of a point in the first period during a spell of dominance for Moycullen, Noel Judge and the Caherlistrane defence did well to keep him under wraps.

The five points Moycullen tacked on from the 20th to the 27th minutes came at a time when they played their best football of the match. They deservedly led at the break, and could have had a couple of goals to their name on the scoreboard. Moycullen missed three great goal opportunities, and ultimately that proved an important element in the final result, as did David Wynne’s sending off with 10 minutes to play.

Darcy’s move to midfield was in direct response to Peter Cooke’s performance in the opening half. Darcy’s second point drew the teams level 0-4 apiece in the 18th minute, but Cooke came up with two from play of his own straight after. It was the start of Moycullen’s purple patch, as their half-back line of Eoin Walsh, Wynne and Diarmuid Lee all made a couple of searing runs and points from Conneely, Wynne and Lee soon followed.

Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune.