Salthill/Knocknacarra 0-8

Oranmore/ Maree 1-3

Mike Rafferty in Moycullen

SPORT in the depths of winter is not always an appealing sight and so it was in Moycullen on Saturday afternoon as the wind and rain reduced this West Board U19 Football Final to an endurance test. Salthill/Knocknacarra did enough to get over the line and, in the process, are the first winners of the David Cox Memorial Cup.

Favoured by the elements in the opening half, they laid the groundwork for their win with some smashing points from Ryan Kavanagh and Matthew Thompson and while a four point interval lead was not exactly commanding, Salthill’s defence played their part on the resumption as they kept Oranmore/Maree to just a point from play and three in total in a frustrating chase to close the gap.

Though the city side always appeared to have the edge, Oranmore/Maree can point to many factors that could have turned the game their way. They got the boost of an early goal, but seldom looked like scoring for the rest of the half. They had plenty of possession on the resumption, but with no one taking responsibility for an occasional shot, they just hand passed the ball all over the park and had little or no penetration.

Four missed frees in succession by four different players just added to Oranmore/Maree’s frustration and as the chase went right to the wire, they also had a late goal chance which was spurned.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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