Late heartbreak for Corrib in Irish Senior Cup final
Corrib 9
Cathal Brugha 10
Corrib Water Polo club suffered the cruelest of defeats in the Irish Senior Cup for the second year in succession when conceding a goal in the last 20 seconds of a pulsating final to lose to a Cathal Brugha side that had also defeated them on penalties in the delayed 2021 final last December.
Corrib advanced to the final with group game wins over Sandycove (8-5), Drogheda (9-3) and St Vincent’s (6-5), before a dominant semi-final display which saw them run out 12-5 winners.
Cathal Brugha came into the game slight favourites having already secured the league title earlier in the season, but Corrib were in confident mood as they looked to win just a second-ever Irish Senior Cup in the club’s 42-year history to add to their success in 2018.
The opening passages of play saw Corrib dominating exchanges, and Ciaran Walshe opened the scoring for Corrib when peeling off his marker in the hole before firing to the net.
Conor Smyth, Mark Moran, and Adam Caulfield, playing wide on the wings, were creating space in the center for scoring opportunities. Micheal Murphy and Goran Sablic, taking advantage of the width, kept the Cathal Brugha defence guessing; while Kyle O’Kennedy made four excellent saves in the first quarter, and Corrib made the most of those saves when doubling their lead.
A speculative pass by Adrian Hanna into the Cathal Brugha attack was won back by Corrib’s Jack Keogh in a battle with his opponent. A quick transition, and a pass from Adam Caulfield the length of the pool found Sablic who dispatched to the goal with a bouncing shot.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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