Salthill- Knocknacarra 0-9

Mountbellew- Moylough 0-7

By Kevin Egan at Tuam Stadium

WHEN Salthill-Knocknacarra supporters try to describe their first game of the 2024 Galway SFC, it’s very possible that they might look around to make sure they’re in safe company, then use an off-colour joke to describe it.

After all, the most apt description is that the game wasn’t much to look at, what excitement there was came right at the end, and ultimately they got what they wanted out of it. And since there are plenty of young readers of the Connacht Tribune, we’ll say no more about that.

As the players made their way off the field to allow St. James and Monivea-Abbey to take over Tuam Stadium and deliver another contest where scores were thin on the ground, supporters could be heard suggesting that neither of the two teams were likely to make a serious run at the Frank Fox Cup, if that was the height of what they were capable of.

While freely acknowledging the fact that this wasn’t a hugely entertaining way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon, this reporter wouldn’t go that far. Many county finals are unedifying spectacles where cuteness, organisation, defensive cohesion and old-fashioned bloody-mindedness go a long way – there was all of that in copious quantities on show in St. Jarlath’s Park.

By any measure, Mountbellew-Moylough are a shadow of the side that reigned supreme three years ago. Of the 19 players that took part in that memorable county final win over Corofin, just seven saw action last Saturday, and many of the absent dozen would have been a serious addition to their unit.

The lack of quality told at times, particularly when it came to passes that were just a yard off target, but Val Daly’s side certainly didn’t lack the stomach for battle or the willingness to make the runs that were needed, and as such they kept themselves in contention in a game where Barry McHugh was swamped, and they didn’t pose a huge scoring threat outside of him.

Salthill-Knocknacarra, however, will be quietly content with this performance. Former Limerick goalkeeper Donal O’Sullivan looks like a very valuable recruit in between the posts, while local GP James McDermott also looks like he will have a meaningful role to play, 19 years after he made his senior debut for Roscommon Gaels and five years after he won Cork and Munster club titles with Nemo Rangers.

Pictured: Matthew Barrett of Mountbellew-Moylough tries to shake off the attentions of Salthill-Knocknacarra’s Seanie Ó Leidhinn during Saturday’s Senior Football clash at Tuam Stadium. Photos: David Cunniffe.