By Alan Dooley

FOR only the third time in forty years the full time whistle was blown in the Galway senior football championship final with only a solitary point dividing the contestants, as Moycullen pulled a rabbit out of the hat late on to dramatically snatch victory from the grasp of Salthill/Knocknacarra at Pearse Stadium last Sunday.

Corofin were the club on the wrong side of an agonising defeat on both previous occasions (1994 and 1980), and Salthill/Knocknacarra will rightly feel they deserved more from a game that was turned on its head when Moycullen’s Owen Gallagher hit a desperation effort in the 56th minute that dropped short and was palmed into the net by trans-Atlantic commuter Peter Cooke.

Cooke, who missed out on Moycullen’s maiden title win in 2020, was a driving force for Moycullen in the final quarter and it was a selfless decoy run that brought him into the central area where Gallagher’s shot would land, just outside the edge of the small square. Salthill/Knocknacarra goalkeeper Ruairí Lavelle charged out to punch clear, which he had done successfully on a couple of occasions.

This time, though, Cooke had manoeuvred into pole position and despite the ball dropping almost vertically he was able to get both hands on it to force it over Lavelle and goalwards, where Eoin Deeley frantically tried to clear but could only deflect it up into the roof of the net. The covering defenders had been a fraction slow to sense the danger and Moycullen were suddenly a point up, the first time they had held the lead since the 20th minute.

There was still time, Salthill/Knocknacarra had wind advantage, so they would surely be able to fashion a scoring chance and force extra time. They had, however, gone through the whole of the third quarter without scoring and Rob Finnerty, their prolific forward, was finding opportunities harder to come by after a dazzling first half display that yielded four points and an assist for Daniel O’Flaherty’s fortuitous opening goal.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.