Farragher leads Corofin’s demolition job in Sligo

Corofin 4-14

St Mary’s, Sligo 2-6

RUTHLESS and relentless Corofin cruised to a Markievicz Park Connacht SFC semi-final win over St Mary’s which was every bit as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.

St Mary’s quietly fancied their chances of causing a shock in the north west, but Corofin’s familiar cocktail of class and composure prevailed. Ultimately the victory secured Corofin a November 22 provincial decider date with Castlebar Mitchels, who beat them at the penultimate stage in the province two years ago.

Corofin haven’t suffered a championship defeat since then so valuable lessons were learned during that particular defeat. It was a bitter and harrowing loss for Corofin, who treat every opponent with the respect and credit they deserve at this level, so Stephen Rochford’s team carried out their duties with predictable enthusiasm. All the statistics confirmed Corofin’s utter superiority, especially when the most important blows were landed in the first 14 minutes.

With Ronan Steede imfluential at midfield, Corofin settled briskly reeling off 2-3 without reply at the outset. St Mary’s were brave, but they never recovered as Corofin’s excellent total in testing weather conditions of 4-14 from 28 shots showcased just how fit and focused they remain.

Martin Farragher took the scoring honours netting a hat-trick of goals, while the forward play of Micheal Lundy and Ian Burke was delightful throughout. St Mary’s couldn’t cope and Rochford acknowledged Corofin’s opening quarter display was critical. “You are coming up against a county champion in every game in this competition. You cannot afford to give anybody a head start.

“You have to take the game to the opposition. We got the goals at great times. We hadn’t been as good in our starts compared to last year, so that was promising for us.”

Only three minutes had elapsed when Lundy was fouled in the square by Jonathan Martyn, and referee Liam Devenney awarded a penalty. Lundy’s conversion was cool and clinical so Mary’s were already under significant pressure.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.