St Michael’s mighty battle ends 17 year wait

Date Published: 14-Oct-2008

THE St. Michael’s Gaelic football heartland in the bosom of the city has always represented something very authentic and last Sunday in Tuam Stadium that wholesome quality was translated into something more tangible as the club broke back into the senior ranks after a 17 year wait.

They only did so after one mighty struggle against a Glenamaddy side loaded copiously with spirit and heart, but even though only one point separated the sides at the end, St. Michael’s were, without question, worthy winners.

This intermediate final proved to be a far more entertaining affair than the senior decider of the previous week with a flow and effervescence to the play which kept the close to 2,000 crowd on their toes from start to finish.

Physically, St. Michael’s are quite an impressive looking side and, even when the sides huddled together on the pitch for their final words of motivation, it was obvious that Glenamaddy were conceding pounds and inches in a lot of sectors.

The North-East Galway side though more than compensated for that size deficit with a doughty edge to their play which on a number of occasions brought them back into real contention, just when St. Michael’s looked set to stroll into a comfort zone.

Both sides were in superb physical condition – a tribute to their backroom management teams – and while the game was always played with fierce intensity the match was remarkably devoid of any rancour.

St. Michael’s did manage to turn their physical advantage into a possession one as well, enjoying a distinct edge in terms of securing primary possession between the two 45s.

Glenamaddy did have their …