Youthful Salthill side collect the spoils after big struggle

Salthill-Knocknacarra 1-17

Leitir Móir  1-13

Pádraic Ó Ciardha in Indreabhán

A major shock looked on the cards at halt-time in this Round 2 contest of the Senior Football Championship as Leitir Móir led Salthill-Knocknacarra by four points. The Connemara side had been by far the better outfit in the opening 30 minutes and, in truth, should have been six or seven points clear.

A young Salthill-Knocknacarra side will take heart, however, from the resilience they showed in the second half to fight their way back into contention before blowing away their opponents in the final quarter of the match.

Val Daly’s team struggled to get to grips with Leitir Móir’s direct style for much of the game but the city side’s superior fitness began to show during the second period as they clinically took advantage of the space that was beginning to appear.

The game got off to a slow start with only four points scored in the first 15 minutes. Those scores were shared equally by the sides, Robert Finnerty and Sean Armstrong scoring for Salthill-Knocknacarra and Aonghus Ó Fátharta and Éamonn Ó Loinsigh replying for Leitir Móir.

Peadar Ó Suillebháin’s men began to take hold of the contest midway through the half and had built up a three point lead, 0-5 to 0-2, by the 20th minute with Ferdia Breathnach and Éamonn Ó Loinsigh particularly instrumental. Evan Ó Flatharta was set-up by Breathnach to score in the 16th minute before the centre-forward converted a free won by Ó Loinsigh, who in turn added another point moments later.

A neat pass from Salthill-Knocknacarra’s Ruaidhrí McTiernan allowed Marcus Mac Donnacha to reduce the gap to two points but Leitir Móir grabbed what looked to be a massive goal in the 25th minute. Ferdia Breathnach picked Aonghus Ó Fátharta out with a free, the corner-forward turned 45m out from goal before racing in and slamming the ball past Evan Duffy in the Salthill-Knocknacarra goal.

A third point of the half from Éamonn Ó Loinsigh put Leitir Móir six points to the good, 1-6 to 0-3, with three minutes remaining of the half and they were more than deserving of the cushion. Disappointingly for them, however, they cheaply allowed Salthill-Knocknacarra to reduce the deficit as two close-range frees from Robert Finnerty in first half stoppage-time meant just four points separated the sides at the break, 1-6 to 0-5

While the first half had struggled to getting going, the contest was played at a relentless pace just after the restart with 1-6 being scored in the opening six minutes of the second period. The half was just 30 seconds old when Matthew Heskin got the first point and, though Aonghus Ó Fátharta struck back for Leitir Móir, Salthill-Knocknacarra continued to eat into their opponents’ lead.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.