Late Cooney goal breaks Cashel’s hearts in thriller

St Thomas’ 2-23

 Castlegar 3-18

THE Galway senior club hurling championship is back – with a bang!

Two of the local aristocrats of the club game served up a first round thriller in Salthill on Saturday, with the reigning county champions St Thomas’ edging Castlegar by two points thanks to an injury-time Conor Cooney goal that buried hopes of a big upset.

The championship was delayed by months due to the Covid-19 pandemic and these two title contenders reminded everyone what they’d been missing all summer.

It had everything: drama, intrigue, suspense and plot twists, it was a fiercely fought battle, filled with stylish hurling, classy scores, mistakes, sideline jostling between Maor Foirne, players’ shemozzles after the half-time and full-time whistles, and a tension-filled finale where the result was always in the balance.

There was a strangeness and unfamiliarity about the whole thing, too. Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings meant around 50 people populated the stand at Pearse Stadium, with nine onlookers on the far terrace, and nobody behind either goal. The flip-side of that is hundreds more enjoyed the match at home on Galway GAA’s innovative live streaming service.

The atmosphere was weird, and eerie, even. You could hear nearly every curse and commentary coming from the stand and pitch-side. Dressing rooms were out of bounds and so half-time huddles were in full view.

And while the practice of players getting changed in the stand afterwards is an unwelcome throwback to an era of substandard stadia facilities, other innovations such as digital match programmes and scheduled water breaks have merit.

Right from the first minute when Castlegar’s Donal Barry broke his hurl during an aerial collision, this had an air of a match that would rate high on the entertaining scale. It didn’t disappoint.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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