Moran stars in a hard-earned group win for Claregalway

Claregalway 1-15

Cortoon Shamrocks 1-12

2017 county intermediate champions Claregalway picked up their first victory at senior level at the third attempt when they saw off Cortoon Shamrocks in a hugely entertaining clash in Corofin on Saturday evening.

With the sides deadlocked approaching the final whistle, a superb 57th minute goal from man of the match Sean Moran sealed the win for Alan Moran’s outfit but, in truth, that only accounts for a fraction of this tale.

For one, this contest marked the return of Galway legend Derek Savage to action and, while he didn’t get on the scoresheet, there were still glimpses of that little bit of magic.

Secondly, this championship tie belied the two teams low status in the group – both were bottom and without a win – as each produced moments of top quality football, especially when it came to delivering pin-point kick passes from distance, in wet conditions.

Over the hour, Claregalway were the better side but Cortoon Shamrocks could quite as easily have come away with something from this game, particularly given they spurned a penalty attempt with 10 minutes remaining.

Early in the contest, Galway senior Adrian Varley had dispatched a similar effort from the spot with aplomb – after his brother Paul was brought down – but when the opportunity presented itself again in the second half, he agonisingly blasted his shot wide of Brian Donoghue’s right-hand post.

Shortly after, Cortoon then had Cathal Mulryan, who was having a fine game, sent to the line on a black card for a foolish trip on Matthew Kilgannon but, credit to them, they rallied with two Adrian Varley frees to tie up the fixture at 1-11 to 0-14.

It was then the seminal moment arrived with Danny Cummins landing a long-range delivery inside to Moran who, at the second attempt, forced his effort beyond Shamrocks’ keeper Darren Dempsey.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and  county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.