The wind leads us all astray as St Thomas’ and Moycullen carry day

Inside Track with John McIntyre

THE smart people among us GAA observers thought we had it all figured out at half-time in both the Galway senior hurling and football finals last Sunday. The two teams which had faced the strong wind in their respective deciders had retired on level terms at the interval. The omens were looking good for both Turloughmore and Mountbellew/ Moylough.

Ultimately, however, the elements didn’t prove nearly as influential as we would have imagined. Instead, there were landmark triumphs for St Thomas’ hurlers – completing a terrific hat-trick of title successes – and Moycullen footballers who turned their county final on its head in the second-half in capturing a first ever senior championship.

Though the absence of crowds severely impacted on the atmosphere at both Kenny Park and Pearse Stadium, the flagship events of the Galway GAA scene still served up high quality showdowns after a truncated season which saw both title races run off in less than three months.

Though some clubs struggle to win county finals, St Thomas’ certainly aren’t one of them. In fact, they can’t seem to lose them. Their 1-14 to 0-15 victory over Turlough maintained the club’s remarkable record of winning every final they have contested – it’s now five in nine years. Conor Cooney and company still endure close shaves, but every time they find a way to win; to get the job done.

That is an extraordinary achievement and reflects well on the squad’s big-day temperaments and ability to cope with pressure. They had looked in trouble at half-time last Sunday and were even in a more perilous state when the excellent Seán Linnane banged over his fourth point to send Turlough into a 0-15 to 1-11 lead in the 54th minute.

This was crisis time for St Thomas’ but once again there wasn’t a trace of panic in their ranks. Instead, they were the ones who managed to find that little bit extra, scoring the final three points of the contest from Cooney (free), Eanna Burke and substitute Brendan Farrell, who made a significant impact on his introduction.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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