Moycullen men make no mistake
Date Published: 28-Nov-2012
Alan Dooley at Tuam Stadium
FROM a position where all that seemed up for debate was the margin of victory with 20 minutes left to play, Moycullen were eventually made to sweat somewhat before being crowned County Junior B football champions after a lacklustre replay at a bitterly cold Tuam Stadium on Sunday.
Having needed a late Paul Clancy free to deny Athenry in the drawn game, Moycullen looked poised to cruise to victory when Robert O’Donnell’s 41st minute point opened up an 11-point margin between the sides. Cillian Grant’s brace of first half goals gave the Connemara men the upper hand, as Kevin O’Donovan’s switch to full forward from the start proved a masterstroke.
But, with one hand seemingly on the trophy, Moycullen maybe began planning the victory celebrations a tad early as an Athenry side who struggled desperately for scores until the three-quarter mark of the contest slowly began to chip away at the lead, kicking five points in succession.
A penalty awarded in the first minute of added time gave Athenry further hope of an astonishing comeback, as captain Keith Loughnane duly drove to the net. One kick of the ball now separated the sides, but Moycullen remained composed in the injury time that followed and ran out deserving winners when James Molloy eventually blew for full time.
On an icy cold day, it took some time for both sides to come to grips with the slippery conditions, although thankfully they were spared the wind and rain that battered them at Pearse Stadium at the beginning of the month. Basic handling errors marred the early exchanges, but when Moycullen did finally surge forward with purpose in the fifth minute, they did so to devastating effect.
Niall Mannion’s run cut through the heart of the Athenry defence before he found O’Donovan on the edge of the square with a neat handpass. The young full forward shaped to shoot before slipping another pass square into space and Cillian Grant was well placed to blast a shot passed the exposed Ger Brown from close range.
O’Donovan drove over the bar in the next minute to boost Moycullen’s confidence further, but Athenry then began to get a foothold in the contest. Their only reward for some good work further afield, however, was an Aidan Greaney free in the 14th minute shortly before David Farrell spurned a decent goal chance.
Moycullen then struck for two points in a minute to open up a 1-3 to 0-1 lead as O’Donovan chipped just over when a goal looked likely and then set up Cillian Grant for a fine score. Greaney hit back with another free for Athenry, but Moycullen always looked the more ruthless when they did get close to goal and they struck a telling blow just before the break.
For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.