Kavanagh goals see derby honours go to Mellows

Liam Mellows 3-15

Castlegar 2-13

Liam Mellows continued their good run of form with a relatively convincing win in an entertaining city derby against Castlegar in Group 1 in testing conditions, as goals either side of half-time by Conor Kavanagh turned a tricky assignment in their favour on Sunday afternoon.

A lively Castlegar outfit looked to have created a decent position for themselves when centre-half forward Sean Connolly drove them eight points ahead with time almost up in the first-half. The vigorous wind in their favour had limited Liam Mellows’ point-scoring opportunities, and while Adrian Morrissey had netted a penalty for Louis Mulqueen’s men, he had also seen another one saved.

Kavanagh struck a vital blow, though, in the dying embers of stoppage time as he latched onto Jack Forde’s clever pass and a clean ground stroke sent the ball skidding past the advancing Johnny Murphy. The sun broke through the clouds for the first time as the sides departed to catch their breath, but Liam Mellows were now far more content with only a four point gap to overcome.

Within five minutes of the restart Kavanagh was reeling away again in celebration after striking a shot to the top of the net. A long ball was fetched by Aonghus Callanan after Donal Barry had tried to nip in front of him to steal it, and Kavanagh’s support run allowed ample opportunity to push his side in front, where they would remain for the rest of the contest.

Earlier, with a steady mist drifting across Pearse Stadium, Castlegar had begun their quest to reclaim local bragging rights in encouraging fashion. With Dean Higgins covering lots of ground at centre half back and Tomas Mannion working well alongside Aaron Tummon in midfield, Castlegar were full of energy and had an eager target man in Kevin Keane.

They were four points to the good after 10 minutes as Ger Farragher grabbed two (one free), Higgins landed a fine effort from midfield, and Keane also scored from play. Adrian Morrissey had also appeared to mishit his first placed ball for Mellows that stayed low and ended up in the side-netting much to Murphy’s relief.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.