Goldrick pulls the strings in clear-cut final victory over Caherlisterane

Claregalway  3-12

Caherlistrane  0-7

FOR the first time since 2006, neither Corofin or Mountbellew-Moylough had booked a place in the North Minor A football final and it was Claregalway who made the most of their absence to take the 2016 crown. The eventual champions produced an impressive display in both attack and defence and left Caherlistrane with no real answer.

The 14 point gap between the sides at the end of play is unfair on Caherlistrane as their opponents’ three goals all came in the final quarter but it was clear from early on in the contest that Claregalway were a step or two ahead. Had they not been so profligate in the first half, Claregalway could have been out of sight at half-time and when they rectified that in the second 30 minutes, they streaked away.

It was Claregalway who opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Barry Goldrick fired over, a sign of what was to come as the county minor had a hugely productive afternoon. Conor O’Shaughnessy brought Caherlistrane level a minute later with a neat point on the turn before Gary O’Neill put them in front with a fine solo effort.

The contest struggled to get going in the early stages with these three scores being the only ones in the opening 20 minutes but had Claregalway been more accurate and had Caherlistrane goalkeeper Brian Walsh not been in such fine form, things could have been very different.

Walsh produced two excellent saves midway through the half, first denying Cillín Greene and then shutting out Padraig Commons at his near post. As well as failing to take those two chances, Claregalway also hit five wides between the 14th and 19th minutes and nine in total in the first half. The only saving grace was that their defence was playing superbly and turning over Caherlistrane attackers time after time.

Padraig Commons brought an end to Claregalway’s wastefulness in the 22nd minute when he fired over a super score from a tight angle and it seemed to signal a shift in fortune for his side’s forwards. Sean Lyons pointed moments later and Commons, Cillín Greene and Shane Moylan posted further scores before the break to leave Claregalway four points to the good at the interval, 0-6 to 0-2.

Caherlistrane were now approaching 20 minutes without a score but they made a promising start to the second half with Gary O’Neill converting a difficult free within 90 seconds of the restart. Unfortunately for them, Claregalway only got more and more clinical as the game wore on.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.