Mellows are still in with a shout of qualifying

Liam Mellows 1-15

Tommy Larkins 0-13

Liam Mellows may have to rely on other results going their way in the concluding chapter of Group A of the Galway senior hurling championship, but at least they have given themselves a fighting chance of securing a quarter final berth after a late surge saw them overcome a previously unbeaten Tommy Larkins side in Kenny Park, Athenry on Sunday evening.

Tadgh Haran struck for the crucial goal with a little over four minutes to play, providing a rare moment of genuine class in a contest that, while closely fought, rarely got the pulse racing.

Mellows’ Adrian Morrissey had drawn the sides level for the ninth time shortly beforehand, and it appeared as though a draw that would have suited Michael Rourke’s men was on the cards.

But when Aonghus Callanan floated in a cross-field ball from under the stand, Haran nudged the sliotar in behind the cover, and with Larkins’ goalkeeper Cathal Tuohy advancing at pace to try and smother the attack, Haran improvised superbly to flick cleverly over Tuohy’s head and into the net for the game’s decisive score.

Morrissey cannily won another free soon after which he converted to suddenly put four between them when two had previously been the biggest lead of the day, and a defence that was superbly led by David Collins and Brian Leen kept Larkins’ desperate late attempts for a lifeline goal at bay with relative ease.

Larkins, in fact, failed to score in the closing 11 minutes of action and could well have gotten closer had they taken their chances, given there was five minutes of injury time to be played.

Ten weeks after their last championship outings in July, when both had recorded victories, Mellows knew that a win was their only option to remain in the hunt for a quarter final spot and, perhaps more importantly, secure a place in the Senior A competition for 2016.

The city side’s ability to win the hard ball served them well in the opening stages, as a hat-trick of Haran frees got them up and running.

After Jason Flynn had opened Larkins’ account with a free, Kevin Huban grabbed the game’s first score from play after John Lee and David Collins had made a mess of clearing their lines. Jason Flynn was involved again as he set up his cousin Colm for a good score on 12 minutes; and another Flynn free had the sides deadlocked at the end of the opening quarter as Haran scored from play at the other end.

The Mellows’ free-taker was about to go through a tough spell, though, as Conor O’Donovan’s side began to dominate. Three relatively routine frees in quick succession were missed narrowly to either side of the posts, and further wasted opportunities from Stephen Barrett and Jack Hastings did little to help the Mellows’ cause.

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