Connacht PPS Senior ‘A’ Football Championship Frustrating loss for holders

Connacht GAA PPS Senior ‘A’ C’ship Semi-final Summerhill College 1-9 St Gerald’s College 0-9

the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence.

Despite making a game of it in the second period, where they outscored the Mayo side by 0-9 to 1-2, Ryan Gibbon’s 35th minute goal was ultimately the difference.

Of course, it is almost 12 months ago when Summerhill, then just contenders, were perched on a similar precipice. At one stage of their semi-final against Ballinrobe Community School – at the same venue – Summerhill were nine points down yet came through to win by two points.

Furthermore, nine of the 19 players who featured in the Hogan Cup final loss at Croke Park last March were involved on Friday last – eight of them starting.

Even with Connor Flynn shooting several classy points here and 0-5 in all, as well as the boost provided by Eli Rooney’s introduction (a recent injury restricted him to just a second-half role), Summerhill failed to sparkle as defending champions should.

Summerhill certainly didn’t plan to be 0-7 to 0-0 down at half-time but they struggled to knit moves against the wind, made only a few incursions into the St Gerald’s half and regularly bled turnovers due to ferocious pressing from a very hungry St Gerald’s.

The number of scores from Summerhill College in the first-half of this semi-final.

Luck wasn’t with Summerhill either, especially when the crossbar denied Paul Flynn’s goalbound effort after 23 minutes.

All wasn’t lost at the break, with a breeze-assisted second-half to come, but it looked bleak for Summerhill. Still, with St Gerald’s having kicked six wides in the first-half, it could have been a lot worse.

Summerhill, with Eli Rooney now in the attack, started the second-half with a spurt as Connor Flynn – easily his side’s best player and, indeed, one of the game’s outstanding forwards – belted over a superb point within 45 seconds of the restart.

When St Gerald’s goaled through Ryan Gibbons less than five minutes later the gap increased to nine points, 1-7 to 0-1. Credit to Summerhill,