Relieved Killererin men get out of jail in forcing a replay

Killererin 0-12 Micheál Breathnach 1-9

Noel Carney at Pearse Stadium

THIS was very much the one that got away as far as Micheál Breathnach are concerned as they let Killererin off the hook by missing three great chances of kicking a winning point in the final minutes of this hard fought senior football championship quarter-final at Pearse Stadium last Sunday.

History would suggest that teams like Killererin with their vast experience and ability to edge tight games will not let it slip when the teams meet again, but the Indreabháin lads will have something to say about that. They will be kicking themselves for not taking their opportunity in this game and will be heartbroken if they fail to clinch victory next time.

Certainly this game could have gone either way for most of the hour but the North Galway men can count themselves lucky to be still in the competition despite their amazing ability to pull games out of the fire when all seems lost.

Their supporters must have been worried when their team trailed 1-9 to 0-10 with five minutes remaining but, true to form, Nicky Joyce drove over a free to halve the deficit and Micheál Boyle levelled it under intense pressure from a 45m free that in normal circumstances would have been taken by goalkeeper Alan Keane, who had to miss this match due to suspension.

Killererin might have been then expected to power on to another of their famous last gasp victories, but instead it was a fired-up young Breathnachs outfit that threatened to take the spoils. Three times they broke through the former champions’ defence but, on each occasion, the chance was lost through over-anxiety and lack of composure.

Although trailing by a point at the break, 0-6 to 0-5, the Gaeltacht lads took the game by the scruff of the neck in the third quarter and established a 1-9 to 0-9 lead with 15 minutes remaining. They failed to score again, however, and even though they only conceded three points during that period it was enough to prevent them from advancing to the semi-finals.

Breathnachs were first to feature on the scoreboard when Peadar Ó Cionnaith, who had earlier seen his free come back off a post, had better luck with one from play only seconds after Killererin’s young goalkeeper Alan Fahy had denied him with an excellent save. They could have been further ahead, but missed a number of chances by being over-ambitious with their passing, often driving ball in to players who were being marked, sometimes on the double.

Killererin had their opportunities too of course and should also have done better. Even Padraig Joyce, looking strangely subdued, dropped two shots into goalkeeper Eoin Ó Coisdealbha’s hands early on and later did it a third time before the break. His cousin Nicky got them off the mark from a free after he was fouled on a solo run, but Breathnachs then got on top.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.