CroweÕs early second-half goal proves critical for Salthill men

Salthill / Knocknacarra 1-09

An Cheathrú Rua 0-10

Alan Dooley at Pearse Stadium

A well-taken goal in the opening minute of the second half from Seamus Crowe gave Salthill-Knocknacarra the impetus to claim a coveted place in the last four of the Galway senior football championships following a scrappy encounter with An Cheathrú Rua at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

Crowe’s strike gave the favourites some breathing room after a first half in which they were somewhat fortunate to go in level at 0-5 apiece, relying almost exclusively on placed balls as their source for scores. The losers were left to lament what might have been had they gone in ahead, as they struggled valiantly to regain parity but came up just short.

Despite only managing four points in the second half, Salthill-Knocknacarra struck at the right moments to stifle the momentum that An Cheathrú Rua appeared to be building in two spells of second half action. Seán Armstrong, Alan Kerins and Conor Healy provided the vital accuracy in conditions that deteriorated rapidly in the closing quarter as a torrential downpour left its mark.

Healy’s second half move from midfield into the full forward berth was the switch that decided the tie, as his physicality had an immediate impact in the build-up to the goal, and also freed both Crowe and Armstrong up to roam further out the field and provide more creative spark to a Salthill-Knocknacarra attack that failed to ignite in the opening half.

Armstrong was unfortunate with an opening effort that came back off the inside of the post, but generally his shooting was erratic in the first half, with his next shot at the posts from a free registering the first score of the game before a clear goalscoring chance ended with the forward rattling the bar from close range.

An Cheathrú Rua had let a similar chance slip their grasp in the early stages when Niall Ó Brian got into a great position but indecision gave the Salthill defenders time to regroup and close him down. A Ciarán de Paor free drew An Cheathrú Rua level on six minutes, and thanks to some great pressure from their forwards, they forced turnovers which led to points from Antaine Ó Cadhain and Cilín de Paor.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.