St. James’ footballers stay on course

Date Published: {J}

St. James’s 0-13

Clifden 0-7

Noel Carney

AS expected, city side St. James’s marched convincingly into the county semi-finals of the Claregalway Hotel intermediate football championship thanks to this win at Clonbur last Saturday evening, but the margin of victory does not do justice to the tremendous efforts of a spirited young Clifden outfit.

The losers, fielding a number of the current Galway minor team that lines out against Cork this weekend in Croke Park with a place in the All-Ireland final at stake, never gave up fighting against the odds but, in the end, there was no doubting the superiority of the impressive winners who justified their favourites tag.

Inspired by county senior stars Paul Conroy and Eoin Concannon and considerably strengthened by the presence in attack of experienced former Salthill-Knocknacarra player Seamie Rabbitte, they were simply too strong for the team that shocked Monivea-Abbey last time out.

Clifden twice took the lead in the opening quarter through points by Mark Shaughnessy and Niall Black but they were answered by scores from Seamie Rabbitte and Ronan O’Connell. However with ex-St. Jarlath’s College star and former Junior Footballer of the Year Damien Joyce repeatedly running at the St. James’s defence, the outsiders were growing in confidence.

The Mervue-Renmore boys, who have been knocking at the door for promotion to the senior grade for several years now, were in no mood to let their championship aspirations be dashed though. Aided by a stiff breeze, they went up a gear and took control with a four-point blitz from Eoin Concannon (2), Paul Conroy and Seamie Rabbitte.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.