Heartbreak for NUIG as UCD snatch Sigerson at the death

UCD 1-13

NUIG 2-9

NUI Galway fell at the final hurdle in agonising fashion as a UCD team led by Conor McCarthy came from behind to clinch a second Sigerson title in three years by the narrowest of margins.

Despite being on the back foot for much of the contest, it was the Dublin side which secured the cup right at the death as Liam Casey held his nerve to point twice in a minute to stop the cup heading West for the first time since 2003.

Just like in NUIG’s semi-final victory over DIT, Maurice Sheridan’s outfit was once more backboned by a plethora of Galway men with eight starting the final and four more making appearances from the bench, with Oughterard native Enda Tierney opening the scoring inside the first minute.

Adam Gallagher quickly doubled their lead before Monaghan star Conor McCarthy showed some early class by shimmying away from his marker to get his side on the board, one which would turn out to be their only point in the opening 20 minutes as the Westerners dominated proceedings early on.

The game would be won and lost around the centre of the field as both teams tended to kick long throughout the contest, and it was the Galway duo of Peter Cooke and Céin Darcy who were coming out on top as their interceptions of UCD kick outs saw Tierney and Damien Comer add to their lead.

With the Westerners 0-5 to 0-1 in front, all looked to be going their way, but two goal chances at either end of the pitch would turn the game on its head on 19 minutes.

A great team move from NUI Galway ended with Comer’s fisted effort at goal hitting the crossbar. UCD gathered and broke at speed, and when the ball eventually found its way to McCarthy he made no mistakes in cutting open the defence with an angled run and striking it home beautifully past Tadgh O’Malley.

The Scotstown native quickly turned the game on its head with a further two points in quick succession to level the scoring for the first time, while further scores from the Laois duo of Eoin Lowry and Evan O’Carroll saw John Divilly’s charges take the lead for the first time with five minutes of the half to play.

However the Tribesmen on the NUI Galway team were full of confidence following an unbeaten start to the National League, and it was no surprise that it was those inter-county stars that helped level the tie going into the break, a super score from the side line by Comer and a free from Tierney seeing the sides deadlocks at 0-8 to 1-5.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.