St. James' men get out of jail in league decider with Dunmore

Dunmore MacHales 0-10 St. James’ 0-10

Noel Carney

A MUCH improved Dunmore MacHales went very close to creating a major shock when they led the current Galway and Connacht championship title-holders St. James’ in injury time before they were caught near the finishing post in the County Intermediate (A) Football League final at Tuam Stadium last Saturday.

Furthermore. they led the Mervue-Ballybane-Renmore combination by a formidable four points early in the final quarter, but the confidence built up over the past few seasons stood to Seamus Burke’s men and though they started without some key personnel, including Conor Glynn, Michael McCormack and target man Alan O’Donnell, they still had the self-belief to rescue themselves.

While the Galway city side may have been less fired up than usual as they come to the end of a magnificent year for the club that has seen them clinch promotion to the top grade as well as annexing the aforementioned competitions, this was still a noteworthy performance by the North Galway club and should confirm their progress after a disappointing spell in recent years.

They seemed to be in trouble towards the end of the opening quarter when they trailed 0-4 to 0-1, but three excellent points in a four-minute spell by Damien Redington, Martin Cleary and David Cronin not only tied the match, it lifted the team and from there to the finish they more than matched their opponents.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.