Shamrocks back in senior ranks after hard fought win

CORTOON SHAMROCKS  1-10

KILKERRIN/CLONBERNE  1-8

Mark Walsh at Tuam Stadium

THE pound of Claddagh. A dividing line for some, not all, between Cortoon and Clonberne. A sight for bonfires welcoming home victorious teams from both parishes. On Sunday evening, it was the turn of Cortoon to take the Pound with the John C Cotter Cup in tow.

Returning to the top flight of Galway club football at the second time of asking, points in added time from David Warde and Peter Finnerty heralded a two-point win for Cortoon Shamrocks. Warde first played adult football with his club in 1999, while Finnerty had started all four of Cortoon’s games until the final, coming off the bench to seal the win.

Three down at the second water break, Kilkerrin/Clonberne showed all their fighting spirit and desire to level as regulation time came and went, Johnny Ryan, Shane Walsh (free) and Conor Rabbitte all being on target.

Aside from those late Cortoon points, their yield of 1-3 in four minutes at the start of the second half was the defining spell of the game. The better team overall did win.

Scoring into the Town End goal, into the wind, was no easy feat on Sunday. Cortoon isolated Joseph Donnellan and Adrian Varley, and hit it long into them, profiting on the scoreboard through three marks from the duo in the first half. Kilkerrin/Clonberne didn’t have the same luxury of size inside, and so had the work the ball through the hands for scoring opportunities in the second period, as Cortoon pressed them at the ’45-yard line.

Kilkerrin/Clonberne went short with 10 of 16 kickouts. Cortoon were happy to let Kilkerrin/Clonberne, in a new set of jerseys for the occasion, go along the ’45 and arc out wide when in possession, crowding the central channel, which essentially holds the keys to the scoring zone.

Twice in the second period, through Donnellan and Finnerty, Cortoon broke out and counter-attacked swiftly to score. How Kilkerrin/Clonberne missed Martin Shaughnessy’s ball-carrying ability and strength in terms of breaking the line.

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

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