Turloughmore hurlers scrape home

TURLOUGHMORE 1-12

KINVARA 2-8

NO shortage of drama and passion in this second round qualifying clash at Kenny Park on Sunday – and a whiff of controversy too – as Turloughmore hurlers made it through to the group stages with just a nose to spare.

It was a spirited contest with the big talking point being the first half dismissal of Kinvara’s Conor Kavanagh for an overhead pull that made contact with the helmeted head of Turloughmore centre back Daithi Burke – referee Alan Kelly immediately brandished a red card and the whole balance of the match changed.

The referee’s decision midway through the first half was a tight call but may have been influenced by the fact that Kavanagh’s hurley split in two at the point of impact with Burke’s helmet – however the Kinvara player was adamant that his overhead pull was a legitimate effort to play the ball.

Thankfully Burke was able to continue after treatment and maybe the straight red was a tad on the harsh side, but Kinvara didn’t dwell on their loss too much, battling with admirable heart right to their last breath in this match.

Turloughmore had the advantage of the strong first half wind blowing diagonally into the scoreboard end, but the biting north-westerly was something of a double edge sword, contributing significantly to a first half wides total that touched double figures for the North Galway side.

In addition to that profligacy in attack, Turloughmore were also caught on the hop by a very sharp start from Kinvara that yielded 1-1 in the opening minutes, the goal coming early on via a bullet of a penalty converted by keeper Colm Callanan.

Seventeen minutes had elapsed in the first half before Turloughmore managed to draw level thanks to a fine strike from Daithi Burke but after Kavanagh’s dismissal, the scores at last began to flow for the winners.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune