Corofin 2-18

Caherlistrane 0-4

Gerard Mulreaney at Tuam Stadium

TWO goals from Kieran Molloy, along with an eight point haul from Dylan Canney, were enough for Corofin as they eased into the senior football championship quarter-finals, with a comprehensive victory over hapless Caherlistrane at Tuam Stadium on Saturday.

With wins over Salthill-Knocknacarra, Killannin, and Oughterard already in the bank, Corofin knew a victory would be enough for them to reach the quarter-finals. As for Caherlistrane, they came into the game off the back of a superb win over Barna, following a couple of close defeats to Oughterard and Salthill-Knocknacarra. And with this being a local derby, a tight game was expected.

However, the community of Caherlistrane was rocked by tragedy earlier in the week when 16-year-old Adam Higgins, son of Sarah who plays Junior football for the club, sadly passed away. Ahead of the game a minute’s silence was observed by both teams and supporters in his honour.

Corofin gave a senior championship debut to teenager Patrick Egan in midfield. Patrick was man-of-the-match for St Jarlath’s when they won the Connacht Post-Primary Schools title in 2022. And they started the brighter, quickly opening up a 0-5 to no score lead inside the opening quarter.

Dylan Wall opened the scoring when he pounced on a loose ball and guided the ball over the crossbar with his left-foot. Moments later it looked like they had been awarded a penalty for a foul on Canney, however after consulting with his umpires, referee Tommy Ó Fátharta gave a free just outside the 20m line, which Canney duly fired over.

Canney tapped over another free before kicking over a spectacular score under pressure from three opposition defenders to extend the lead to four points. Caherlistrane were the cause of their own early downfall, as they conceded too many frees.

Pictured: Corofin’s Brian Cogger tries to shake off the attentions of Caherlistrane’s Liam Judge during Saturday’s Senior Football Championship tie at Tuam Stadium. Photos: David Cunniffe.