Milltown men show backbone to recover from bad start

MILLTOWN 1-16 CORTOON 2-9 (After extra-time)

IF the drawn tie between these two sides could be compared to a burnt takeaway, then the second sitting was one of caviar and champagne as the footballers of Milltown and Cortoon served up something of a classic dish at Tuam Stadium on Saturday evening.

Heartbreak and glory were delivered in equal measures as a Milltown side, that had looked down and out, staged a most remarkable comeback thanks to a real pressure Mark Hehir free, converted an incredible eight minutes after normal time had elapsed.

It would be pretty safe to assume that referee Muiris Mac Gearailt won’t be at the top table of the Cortoon social this winter, with the Shamrocks pretty aggrieved at the elongated ending and also at the awarding of a series of second half frees against them, but that aside they must also face up to the fact that they failed to deliver the knock-out blows when the opportunities arose.

And while there might have a distinct ‘absence of malice’ in the drawn match, there were a number of flashpoints during this replay both on the field of play and in front of the dugouts, where intermittent verbal spats threatened on occasion to get a tad more serious.

A passionate crowd of close on 2,000 also added immeasurably to the atmosphere. Due credit though to Milltown, who survived a pretty miserable first half of jittery defensive moments and lack of punch in attack, to launch an audacious comeback as they patiently picked away at what had looked an unassailable lead.

Bad enough as Milltown’s interval plight was, when they trailed by 2-5 to 0-5, they seemed set to be encased in the dungeon of defeat when two early second half points from Derek Savage left them eight adrift. It appeared as if only a goal could spark off anything by way of a Milltown comeback but they relied on patience rather than panic, with a steady tot of points – chiefly supplied by Hehir and Michael Martin – leaving just two between the sides at 2-7 to 0-11 with six minutes left on the clock.

By that stage, Cortoon had gone close on 20 minutes without a score and their failure to keep the scoreboard ticking over during this period was to prove their undoing. Half chances just came and went, although when David Warde pointed a 55th minute free, to leave his side 2-8 to 0-11 ahead, the finishing tape was within touching distance. Full match report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.