Monivea-Abbey 0-9

Caherlistrane 0-5

By Kevin O’Dwyer at Tuam Stadium

THE stakes were high in this senior football relegation final played on Saturday afternoon at Tuam Stadium, with the prize for the victors retention of their top flight status for next year while, for the losers, they would face the dreaded drop to intermediate grade for 2025.

In the end, the pre-match favourites and last year’s intermediate champion Monivea-Abbeywere always doing enough to earn the victor’s spoils.

In the first half, the leadership came from their county player Cillian McDaid. He opened the scoring with a superb point after three minutes and was heavily involved in winning ball in defence and orchestrating attacks from the middle of the field.

Caherlistrane lacked forward power and though Joe Monaghan drilled over a superb point in the seventh minute, his side were not to score again for 18 minutes, when it was Monaghan who pointed again, this time from a free.

In the meantime, Monivea-Abbey’s Glen Kelly pointed two frees and Daragh Burke finished off an excellent team move to score from play in the 23rd minute, putting his side four points to one ahead.

Subsequently, Kelly scored a long range free from out near the forty five metre line before Brian Moran’s point from play in added time gave Monivea-Abbey a four point cushion at half time, 0-6 to 0-2

Caherlistrane made a number of substitutions at half time and in the early stages of the second half. These schanges eventually had some effect but with Monivea-Abbey’s Trevor Mullins now taking control of midfield, his side maintained the overall advantage.

Niall Mannion pointed for the winners in the 39th minute before a a move from the left side of defence to the right corner resulted in a Monivea-Abbey free on 41 minutes, which Kelly converted to stretch his side eight points to two points clear.

Pictured: Monivea-Abbey’s Trevor Mullins, pictured in action against Maigh Cuilinn’s Cian Deane, put in a big shift in their relegation final win over Caherlistrane at Tuam Stadium.