TAD suffer one-point championship heartbreak yet again

Killimordaly 2-18

Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry 0-23

It was heart-break once again for Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry as their hopes of reaching the final 12 in the race for the county title were ended by a brilliant Killimordaly side who simply refused to be beaten.

Brian Concannon’s 59th minute wonder score stretched the lead out to three points – a margin that was simply too great for the east Galway side to overcome before referee John Keane’s final shrill of the whistle.

Credit to both sides for providing a superb spectacle for the large crowd in attendance at Kenny Park on Sunday but at this level, winning is all that matters – just ask Tynagh/Abbey. This is the second year running Tom Moloney’s men have been beaten by a solitary point at this stage.

The margins are so tight at senior club level in Galway hurling and had they managed to get over the line on Sunday, who knows how far they could have progressed, but in the end it was Killimordaly who won the key duels for possession. They found the target when the need was greatest, and they are the ones who move on to the preliminary quarter-finals. What a cruel sport hurling is.

Tynagh/Abbey were superb in the first half despite a slow start. They hit three wides before Shane Moloney eventually got them off the mark with an exquisite line ball in the 10th minute and in the following 23 minutes or so before the break, they registered a further 0-13.

It was anything but a slow start for Killimordaly who found the target after only 18 seconds through the lively Darragh Cooney. Brian Burke added two frees to give his side an early three-point cushion but once Moloney got Tynagh/Abbey off the mark, they took control.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.