Talented Salthill minors hit the goal trail again

Salthill-Knocknacarra 5-11

Mountbellew/Moylough 1-11

TWENTY goals in five championship games this year is a telling statistic of just how good the 2015 Salthill-Knocknacarra minor team is.

Four of those matches came in the West Board A championship. They shot five, two, three and five against An Spidéal, Barna twice and Moycullen respectively, and in the County Final at Tuam Stadium last Saturday evening, they hit Mountbellew/Moylough for five again.

The spine of their team is very strong. From Ryan Hunt and William Finnerty in the key central defensive areas, to John Maher and Eamon Conroy at midfield, up to captain Paul Butler at centre-forward, and Robert Finnerty, Marcus Mac Donnacha and Evan Murphy in the inside line, it’s a classy selection playing a brand of football very easy on the eye.

Mountbellew/Moylough had beaten Sathill/Knocknacarra in the reverse fixture 12 months previous in Tuam, 1-9 to 0-6. That Mountbellew selection contained the likes of Michael Daly, Colm Mannion and Eoin Finnerty, and was an excellent team. But the Salthill version of 2015 may have been the best the county has seen for some time.

And it wasn’t that Mountbellew played badly either last Saturday, they just had no answer to the size and pace of their opponents. Mountbellew/Moylough disposed of Corofin with relative ease on their way to a second North Board A title in succession a couple of weeks ago. They had two county minors in their ranks in Colin Ryan and John Daly, but Ryan often ploughed a lone furrow in the forwards, scoring 0-7.

Not a particularly tall player, his ability to win long balls was a standout feature, and it was usually John Daly firing the passes his way with that cultured left boot he possesses. The Galway minors did achieve a first Connacht title success in eight years by beating Sligo in July, but how only Eamon Conroy was the only member of the Salthill-Knocknacarra side to make the panel is difficult to ascertain.

Butler, Robert Finnerty, Mac Donnacha and Maher had all seen senior championship action with the club this year. Butler, Finnerty and Mac Donnacha started the semi-final loss to Mountbellew/Moylough less than a month ago, with Maher being introduced from the bench. Ironically, Val Daly was the man who gave them their chance.

After leading the Salthill seniors out to play his native club, the tables had turned, and it was Daly and Mattie Giblin pitting their wits against Anthony Finnerty on the sideline at the same venue last weekend.

Daly and Finnerty would have faced each other for Galway and Mayo in days gone by, and it was interesting to observe the respective duo’s mannerisms on the touchline. William and Robert are both sons of Anthony, while Paul Butler is a son of another former Mayo footballer in Mark Butler.

Full match report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.