Bearna 1-10

Milltown 0-12

By Eanna O’Reilly at Tuam Stadium

A late rally by Bearna saw them record their first win of the championship in their round three clash with Milltown at Tuam Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Cosmos Gilmore’s side trailed for most of the contest but finished impressively to score the final three points of the game and claim the victory.

Unfortunately for Bearna, however, it wasn’t enough for them to avoid the relegation play-offs, as their winning margin wasn’t sufficient to lift them out of fourth place in the group.

Milltown dominated much of this game, but faded out of the contest in the closing stages. Jimmy Lyons’ charges were in a strong position early in the second-half, holding a three-point lead and generally being the better side. However, they were restricted to a single point during the final 20 minutes of the half, in a disappointing finish to the game for the North Galway outfit.

Nevertheless, Milltown advanced to the preliminary quarter final draw, which saw them paired with Oughterard in the last 12 of the championship. Bearna will have to regroup for the relegation play offs, and a meeting with Monivea-Abbey.

The opening quarter of this game was very evenly contested, with the sides level at 0-3 apiece after 15 minutes. Milltown opened the scoring when Michael Martin converted a free, after a foul on Niall Costello. Playing with the wind, Bearna soon equalised when Seán Dunne kicked a good score from 40 yards out.

A free from Tom Curran gave Bearna a 0-2 to 0-1 lead, before Milltown had a goal chance at the other end. Eoin Mannion’s palmed effort appeared to be heading for the top corner, but Bearna ‘keeper James Keane was alert to pull off a good save.

Three minutes later, Mannion levelled the contest, after a well-worked move which saw Cathal Blake and Liam Costello transfer possession smartly, before Mannion finished from close-range. A minute later, the Milltown corner-forward put his side ahead, after some good work from Costello in the build-up.

Pictured: Bearna’s Caolan Malone looks to break through the challenge of Sam Feerick of Milltown in Tuam Stadium last Sunday. Photo: David Cunniffe.