Inside Track with John McIntyre

Can you imagine the anguish and doubt in the Moycullen dressing room during half-time of Sunday’s absorbing Galway senior football final at Pearse Stadium. Having had use of the strong wind, the 2020 champions found themselves in some distress, trailing by two points on a 1-5 to 0-6 scoreline.

Worse again, Moycullen were coming off second best against their nemesis at under-age level. In the circumstances, it would have been understandable if Don Connellan’s charges were more than a little spooked by their first-half struggles against a resurgent Salthill/Knocknacarra outfit. It was time to stand up or die.

Though the outlook looked grim for Moycullen at half-time, they were always going to rally on the resumption. For starters, there is just too much quality in their ranks – six players on the Galway panel – while they strong running and ball-carrying style would have been ideally suited for facing into the elements.

With a big crowd of 6,000 gathering in Salthill – the legacy of Galway reaching the All-Ireland final and the prospect of witnessing a rare west board shootout – the start of the county final was pushed back by ten minutes. It only added to the intrigue of the occasion, but when the action did start Salthill weren’t slow in making a statement.

True, there was an element of good fortune about wing back Daniel O’Flaherty’s goal – the ball dipping under the Moycullen crossbar – but Salthill were quick out of the blocks in trying to make a mockery of their pre-match odds of 11/4. County player Rob Finnerty was making his presence felt up front and though Dessie Conneely, Seán Kelly, Peter Cooke, defender David Wynne and Owen Gallagher all raised white flags in the opening-half, Moycullen were still down by two at the break.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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