Morrissey steers Liam Mellows to comfortable first round win

LIAM MELLOWS 0-17

CRAUGHWELL  0-11

THEY may have had to rely on free-taker Adrian Morrissey for the bulk of their scores, but the 2017 county champions Liam Mellows were far from flattered by a six point defeat of Craughwell in their opening game in Group 1 on Sunday evening in Athenry.

Morrissey managed to outscore last year’s beaten semi-finalists on his own with 13 points, including a solitary effort from play, while Craughwell’s startling second half collapse will be a cause for some concern even this early in the year, given that they only managed a measly two points in the second period, having gone in level at the break.

It was astonishing, really, how much of a stranglehold Liam Mellows’ defence began to exert on their opponents as Craughwell created just seven scoring opportunities in the second half, hitting four wides while a late close range free by Niall Healy which may have led to an interesting closing few minutes was also repelled.

A string of six unanswered Liam Mellows points while Craughwell’s challenge imploded in the third quarter opened up a more than sufficient cushion for the champions, with the composed  defensive efforts of Sean Morrissey, Brian Lee, and Michael Conneely ensuring that Craughwell’s forwards were living off scraps.

Lee was the only change to Mellows starting fifteen who had come up short against Cuala, the eventual champions, only eight weeks ago in the All-Ireland semi-final. David Collins and Aonghus Callanan continued in their usual posts, with Tadhg Haran an important focal point alongside Adrian Morrissey and the lively Conor Kavanagh in the half forward line.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune