Heartbreak for Moycullen as UL Eagles snatch win at death

Date Published: {J}

Moycullen 58

UL Eagles 59

Two free throws with time expired handed UL Eagles a dramatic one point win over Moycullen in Superleague action on Saturday in NUI Galway.

Moycullen looked set to secure another scalp against the preseason favourites from Limerick, holding a lead throughout the fourth quarter. That slender advantage was still intact with 10 seconds remaining as the visitors launched one last attack.

Superb defence saw Moycullen force Eagles into a bad, off-balance shot that fell well short. However, as time expired, a foul was called during the scramble for the ball and – much to the outrage of the home support – two free shots were awarded to Limerick.

Standing alone on the court with the game clock showing zero seconds and Moycullen ahead by one, Limerick’s Jason Killeen coolly connected on both attempts to give his team the narrowest of victories.

“It was a cruel way to lose, to have battled like the lads did all game against a team with such a size advantage and lose like that is tough,” said Moycullen head coach Gerald Lyons.

“We played defence as well as we have all season and even without James Loughnane, who is one of our best defenders, we held them under 60 points. Unfortunately we just couldn’t get enough scores to push out our lead when we were on top.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.