Mellows edge home in tight finish

Date Published: 30-Sep-2008

THE least attractive of the four Galway senior hurling quarter-finals down for decision over the weekend, unfortunately justified its lowly status as two teams unfamiliar with this level of championship prominence suffered a severe dose of stage fright.

Beagh and Liam Mellows were appearing in the Galway quarter-finals for the first time in 22 and 15 years respectively and, on Saturday evening’s evidence at Kenny Park, you’d be left wondering how either of them had reached the business end of the title race in the first place.

This was an uninspiring and a poor standard affair which only came to life in the closing ten minutes of a match fought out in front of a disappointing attendance. The few neutrals who were present in Athenry got little to enthuse about and must also have been left bemused by the woeful inaccuracy on display in the opening half.

It’s hard to credit that 10 minutes into Saturday’s encounter, both teams had …..