O'Leary shows nerves of steel from late free

IT was by no means a classic, but this drawn preliminary quarter-final between Liam Mellows and Ardrahan created enough suspense in the dying moments to entertain a modest crowd at Kenny Park on Sunday.The real talking point, of course, was the return to championship action of former Galway captain David Collins from a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury. The talented wing-back marked his return by producing an impressive display while also striking over seven points from placed balls.Indeed, the marksmanship of Collins was instrumental in securing some form of a result, although if Mellows had lost this clash it would have been somewhat of an injustice as they were marginally the better team over the hour.As noted, though, it was only marginal. Both teams, particularly in the forward division, lacked a cutting edge, underlined by the fact that Mellows and Ardrahan only scored 1-3 and 1-2 from play respectively throughout the contest.In truth, there was never much between the two sides. A Joseph O’Leary free in the opening minute got Ardrahan off the mark, but Paddy Kirwan’s charges drew first blood when a neat flick from Collins initiated a swift move that led to Niall McInerney setting up Aonghus Callanan for a great goal on eight minutes.Throughout, Callanan looked like he could pose significant problems for Ardrahan but, all in all, he was under-utilised by Mellows. Just as an aside, there is something shameful that Callanan had to line out for Mellows on Sunday afternoon and afterwards had to rush across to Tuam Stadium to aid Salthill/Knocknacarra in their county senior football semi-final.The season is long enough and, once again, the manner in which our national games are run at local level needs to be addressed. Before the 'powers that be’ start dialling the Tribune switchboard, this is not a cut at Galway officialdom alone, as other County Boards the length and breadth of the country are just as guilty. It is, arguably, an indictment of the organisation as a whole.Back to the action, and Ardrahan’s response to Callanan’s clinical finish was rapid. Corner forward Maurice Callanan, collecting a massive clearance from Gerard Bond, pointed within moments to cut the deficit to one and while Shane Minton fired over a free for the City side shortly after, Ardrahan subsequently took the lead with a goal of their own on 12 minutes.It was centre-forward John Greene who made the decisive break to set up the goal opportunity, with the lively Ger Hennelly pulling first time on the delivery to the Mellows net. By this stage, the contest had begun to warm up and two Shane Minton frees towards the end of the first quarter nudged Mellows into the lead once again.