Wall goal puts Corofin on way to retaining their title
KIERAN Fitzgerald added to his record tally of Galway senior football medals as his 13th win came after Corofin edged past MountbellewMoylough at Pearse Stadium.
Fitzgerald was also sent off for the first time in his career after he picked up a second yellow card in added-time. Mountbellew/Moylough finished with 12 players following Noel McDonagh’s straight red with Barry McHugh picking up a double yellow along with Fitzgerald before Michael Daly received a black card.
A goal in the third minute from Dylan Wall set Corofin up for a 20th title, while Gary Sice added four crucial points in his 11th county final victory.
Winning a record 13th Galway senior winner’s medal was special for Fitzgerald and despite the uncharacteristic dismissal, his manager Kevin O’Brien praised his influence on the team.
‘He’s an absolute gentleman, it’s a credit to be in the same dressing room as him. He’s a role model and probably the fittest player we have at 38 years of age,’ said O’Brien.
‘He is probably still one of the best full-backs in Galway, particularly in club football. He’s outstanding, he’s first to training every night and is a role model to everyone inside the club and outside it as well.’
With all 15 players crammed inside their own 45-metre line, Mountbellew-Moylough made the All-Ireland champions work to carve out chances. This week, however, Corofin were up for the challenge with only two wides blighting their performance as they ran out worthy winners.
Unlike the drawn encounter, Corofin took the lead early on and remained there as Wall’s thirdminute goal paved the way to victory.
Mountbellew-Moylough were a point ahead at that stage when Michael Daly curled over a brilliant score from the right, but when Wall ran on to Liam Silke’s pass and hit the net, it was always going to be tricky for the underdogs.
Daly’s second score closed that gap to one point by the sixth minute but that was as close as they got. Corofin kicked four points in a row to lead 1-4 to 0-3 at half-time, and Mountbellew/Moylough’s next score didn’t arrive for another 36 minutes when Eoin Finnerty was on target with the last kick of the game.
Just before that final score, the game had descended into a niggly affair with both sides involved in petty fouling and off-the-ball confrontations. Both McHugh and Fitzgerald were yellow-carded twice during their ongoing duel and sent off in injury-time, while Mountbellew-Moylough’s Noel McDonagh was shown a straight red following a clash with Micheál Lundy.
‘It was all about the win,’ said O’Brien, whose side were not afraid to pack their defence either.
‘The way that MountbellewMoylough set up, it’s hard to get scores. Scores were hard come by out there and they caught us on the break a few times.
‘Our lads are so used to playing going forward as quick as they possibly can. It was quite the change in attitude in the last two games. I think we adapted very well and I think we got some good scores in the second half. Once we went ahead it was an easier game to control.
‘We had to be more patient and we didn’t bring the ball into the tackle as much. Any time we brought it into the tackle around the middle, we got turned over. We created a bit more space out there and we were smarter in our width. They set up very well and are talented footballers.’
After wrapping up this replayed win, Corofin now face Roscommon winners Clann na nGael in next Sunday’s provincial semifinal, which will be their fourth weekend in a row for championship action.
‘It’s a tough test. I don’t know a lot about them, I saw ten minutes of their county final and we were training one day and we saw a bit of it,’ O’Brien added.
‘They’ll pose a different threat, this will be the fourth week on the road which in itself will cause a problem, we’ll enjoy tonight and see where that takes us.’