Date Published: 18-May-2011

Annaghdown 3-4

Mountbellew/

Moylough 0-11

FRANK FARRAGHER

AT TUAM STADIUM

THIS match created its own little niche in the history of senior championship football in Galway producing the most eclectic selection of wides ever seen over 60 minutes of club fare in the county – the malaise spread through Tuam Stadium like a plague of locusts.

The final tally of wides stood at 28 and appropriately enough was shared pretty equally between two sides that did everything possible not to win this game. It was kind of fitting that the team with seven scores ended up taking the spoils against a side hitting the target on 11 occasions.

There were wides from 20 yards out and ones from 50 metres range and while a few of them did ‘shave’ the posts, more of them made a fair effort at dropping halfway between the goalposts and the corner flags. No one was immune from the contagion – the colour of the jersey mattered not one jot.

From a match like that, as we often ruefully reflect on from the bitter memory bank of the All-Ireland final of ’83, there is only thing that matters and that’s the result. This week, Annagdown will be well satisfied with a two point victory over a Mountbellew side that have been strong championship contenders over recent years.

It’s been a while since Mountbellew conceded three goals in the championship – they pride themselves on the meanness of their defence, a stinginess that often in the past had to compensate for scoring frailty at the other end of the pitch.

The signs weren’t good for Mountbellew when they managed to concede a 21st minute penalty out of nothing. Joe Bergin had caught the ball cleanly in his own square but referee Frank Kinneen spotted corner back Cathal Duffy tugging at an Annaghdown jersey and Frankie Burke fairly buried the resultant penalty kick to the back of Brian Donnellan’s net.

It was a piece out of finishing completely out of character with the rest of the Annaghdown attacking efforts. With Niall Coleman the dominant force in the first half midfield exchanges, Annaghdown created a whole series of chances into the town goal but only managed two points via Frankie Burke and Damien Burke.

Annaghdown shot 11 first half wides from near and far, misses that allowed Mountbellew back into contention with points from Cathal Kenny (2), Stephen Boyle and Paul Donnellan leaving them just one behind at the interval at 1-2 to 0-4.

Aided by the stiffish diagonal wind, the general consensus was that Mountbellew would settle down and grind out a typical workmanlike victory but two Annaghdown goal strikes from Niall Farragher in the 36th minute and Frankie Burke in the 43rd minute changed all that.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.