Salthill-Knocknacarra 0-17

Mountbellew-Moylough 1-10

By STEPHEN GLENNON AT TUAM STADIUM

AN unusual game in many respects, but, in the end, a slicker Salthill-Knocknacarra got the job done without their scorer-in-chief Rob Finnerty and fellow Galway star Cathal Sweeney against another Frank Fox Cup contender, Mountbellew-Moylough, at Tuam Stadium on Saturday evening.

This SFC Group 1 opener had all the ingredients to be a classic and it certainly had the feel of one after Mountbellew-Moylough overturned a five-point deficit to lead 1-6 to 0-8 by the half-time break.

However, Salthill-Knocknacarra didn’t panic. They stuck to the game-plan for the second period and, consequently, controlled the contest to good effect as their opponents struggled to get shots off at the posts.

This was the losers’ Achilles heel. They over-relied on the big boot of full-forward Barry McHugh, who produced a tour de force when kicking 1-9 of his side’s total of 1-10. In all, he scored three two-point frees over the 60 minutes, and his two in the first half gave Mountbellew-Moylough a foothold when they were endanger of being overrun.

By the 13th minute, Salthill-Knocknacarra led 0-6 to 0-1, and the pace of their play was truly breathtaking as man of the match Daniel O’Flaherty, with two fine points, goalkeeper Donal O’Sullivan (45), Charlie Power (2), and the excellent Michael Kitt fired over a series of notable scores.

It was great football to watch and it rivalled everything county champions Corofin did in the earlier game, when they put on a show against Monivea-Abbey to win 4-20 to 0-10. At 0-6 to 0-1 – McHugh pointing a free for Mountbellew in the midst of this Salthill scoring fest – it appeared this fixture might enter similar territory.

Yet in the second quarter, Mountbellew-Moylough somehow conjured up the resilience to get themselves back into contention, outscoring the victors 1-5 to two points. Ciaran Mulhern, Mountbellew-Moylough’s only other scorer, pointed a free on 15 minutes, before McHugh kicked his first two-point free off the ground. He added another one shortly after.

McHugh then capitalised on a rebound off the post to net the lead score on 26 minutes and, indeed, Mountbellew-Moylough could have had another two minutes later, when an Eoin Boyle goal chance was bravely smothered by Salthill-Knocknacarra goalkeeper O’Sullivan.

Pictured: James Foley of Mountbellew-Moylough tries to shake off the attention of Salthill-Knocknacarra’s Mark Mannion during Saturday’s Senior Football Championship clash at Tuam Stadium. Photo: David Cunniffe.