Ardrahan 1-21

Castlegar 0-19

THERE was plenty of drama throughout the county last weekend, but none rivalled the sideshows as well as the main theatre delivered by these two teams before Ardrahan’s victory saved their championship and Castlegar received a reprieve upon hearing the final whistle.

Following two defeats, the blue and white needed a result and ten points in the final 15 minutes gave Syl Dolan’s charges the required quota.

It was all so different for Castlegar who entered this contest with a strong hand. Their scoring difference from Round 1 (+16) saved them at the finish but until Sarsfields got their winning goal against Oranmore/Maree with the final puck, the city side looked set for relegation worries.

That was the conclusion to this much anticipated showdown on a warm summer’s evening in Athenry but the talking points and surprises didn’t wait for the beginning. Ardrahan announced a team that saw Jason Kennedy and Pearse McCrann back in the starting line-up.

Castlegar waited as long as possible before making their 15 players known with speculation increasing on Ger Farragher’s status after he missed the second round defeat to Sarsfields. As expected, the former county star took his place at centre forward for the 17-time champions.

With all the distractions, the biggest bluff pulled by Dolan saw a tall full forward in a red helmet saunter almost unnoticed into position and the ball was thrown in before many in attendance had realised that Johnny Glynn was back.

Glynn was a thorn in Castlegar’s defence who clearly weren’t expecting him. The 2017 All-Ireland winner struck two points, was involved in five direct assists and won a penalty in the second minute.

Beforehand, Jack Coyne picked out Darragh Neary for Castlegar’s opener but Sean Gardiner, near flawless in the role, registered his first free in the second minute.

Pictured: Castlegar’s Simon Thomas breaking out of defence against Jason Kennedy of Ardrahan during Saturday’s Senior A tussle at Kenny Park. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.