Magnificent Corofin outfit hit the jackpot again at favourite venue

Inside Track with John McIntyre

COROFIN don’t forget. Two years ago, as reigning All-Ireland club football champions, they never recovered from an early Dr Crokes blitz at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds. By their lofty standards, the Galway standard bearers were caught napping, but the lesson was heeded – they haven’t been beaten since.

In joining an elite band of clubs to have retained the Andy Merrigan Cup – UCD, St Finbarr’s of Cork and Crossmaglen – when putting 14-man Dr Crokes to the sword at Croke Park last Sunday, Corofin were also claiming All-Ireland honours for the third time in five years. It’s a staggering achievement for a group of players who are continuing to rewrite the record books for a Galway club team.

Only Caltra – what a fairytale triumph that was – and Salthill/Knocknacarra from the county have managed to last the distance in the near fifty-year history of the All-Ireland series, but Corofin are in a different league altogether after preserving their proud winning record in championship finals on St Patrick’s Day. It’s four from four now.

Though Micheal Lundy and company didn’t quite emulate their swashbuckling dismantling of Nemo Rangers 12 months ago, they still regularly tore the Dr Crokes defensive cover to shreds with their penetrative attacking, fast-hands, lightning transfers, outstanding support play and some brilliant score-taking.

Even before John Payne got the line for a retaliatory kick at Dylan Wall in the 26th minute, the Kerry men were already struggling to cope with the pace of Corofin’s forward raids. Only some smart goalkeeping from Shane Murphy prevented the defending champions from running amok altogether. As it was, the Kerry men were left reeling by those superbly executed opening-half goals from impressive duo Jason Leonard and Gary Sice.

They were both terrific scores. Kieran Molloy’s instinctive first-time and perfectly-weighted booted pass putting Leonard in the clear after Martin Farragher had retrieved his own blocked-down point attempt in the 12th minute, while Sice expertly finished a typical flowing movement which was initiated by Wall’s brilliant turnover and carried on by Martin Farragher, Daithí Burke and Ian Burke.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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