Farragher penalty save sends Monivea Abbey past Milltown in Galway SFC
DENIS FARRAGHER’S match-winning penalty save proved decisive as Monivea Abbey edged out Milltown 0-16 to 0-15 in a titanic Galway Senior Football Championship preliminary quarter-final battle at Tuam Stadium on Sunday evening.
With just one minute remaining, Farragher produced a superb stop to deny Martin from the penalty spot, allowing Monivea Abbey to cling on and secure their place in the Galway SFC quarter-finals for the first time since 2017. They will face Corofin in the last eight.
It was a chaotic contest, with Monivea Abbey appearing to be in control for large spells, but Milltown finished strongly and looked to have done enough to turn the game in their favour. Ultimately, however, they were left to rue missed opportunities as they came up just short.
Ten minutes into the opening half, Monivea Abbey held a slender 0-4 to 0-2 lead, with Galway senior footballer Cillian McDaid impressing in attack and contributing two points. However, Peter Maher’s side suffered a setback in the 11th minute when McDaid was forced off with a hamstring injury.
Milltown regrouped, with Eoin Mannion and Liam Costello reducing the deficit to the minimum by the 16th minute as the Scans trailed 0-5 to 0-4. Lee Kenny and Glenn Kelly restored Monivea Abbey’s three-point advantage before Mike Martin responded with two points in succession to leave the contest finely poised after 26 minutes.
Niall Mannion added his second point of the half, while Milltown goalkeeper Cathal Blake was called upon to make an excellent save from Darragh Burke. Kelly then completed the first-half scoring with his second free, leaving Monivea Abbey 0-9 to 0-6 ahead at the interval.
Milltown struggled at times to win primary possession in the middle third, with Trevor Mullins’ physicality proving particularly difficult to handle. Monivea Abbey began to create some breathing room early in the second half, outscoring their opponents by 0-4 to 0-1 in the opening ten minutes.
Niall Mannion and Darragh Burke chipped in with important scores, while Brian Moran was on target twice as Monivea Abbey extended their advantage to 0-13 to 0-8 with 20 minutes remaining.
Eoin Godwin’s charges then began to rally and gain the upper hand around the middle third. Mannion and Kelly exchanged frees between the 42nd and 48th minutes, before Milltown hit six of the next seven scores.
A two-point free from Mark Hehir, along with two points apiece from Mannion and Darragh Costello, saw Milltown move 0-15 to 0-14 ahead after 57 minutes.
The men in blue had two further opportunities to extend their lead but failed to take either, chances they would ultimately regret. The game then entered a dramatic closing spell when linesman Christopher Ryan alerted referee James Molloy to a breach.
Kelly opted for the two-point free rather than the single and made no mistake, ending Monivea Abbey’s 14-minute wait for a score and restoring their lead at 0-16 to 0-15.
The drama was not over. Martin was fouled inside the small square, but his penalty was brilliantly saved by Farragher. Monivea Abbey then transitioned quickly, retained possession and saw out the remaining seconds before referee James Molloy blew the full-time whistle.
In the lead up to the penalty, Monivea Abbey midfielder Darragh Burke was dismissed on a straight red card for an off the ball incident with Darragh Costello. It is set to be a busy few weeks for Peter Maher who will hope to have both McDaid and Burke available.
Lewis Ryan and Lee Kenny gave Monivea Abbey plenty of energy going forward, Trevor Mullins dominated the physical exchanges, while Brian Moran and Niall Mannion were lively in attack hitting 0-6 between them for the winners. Milltown’s inside line of Mike Martin, Eoin Mannion and Darragh Costello also impressed, racking up 0-11 of their side’s 0-15.
MOINIVEA ABBEY: D Farragher; K O’Reilly, J Burke, C Mannion; L Ryan, C Cooley, L Kenny (0-1) T Mullins, D Burke (0-1); C Dolan, C McDaid (0-2), G Kelly (0-5, tpf, 0-3f); B Moran (0-3), A Ryan, N Mannion (0-3). SUBS: P Mullins (0-1) for McDaid (11, injury), C Maher for Burke (39), J Collins for Kenny (50), L Kenny for Dolan (56), J Finn for L Ryan (61).
MILLTOWN: C Blake; P Godwin, J Kirrane, K Mannion; S Feerick, S Blake, A Kehoe; T Godwin, J Kavanagh; N Costello, M Hehir (0-2, tpf), L Costello (0-2), M Martin (0-3), E Mannion (0-5, 2f), D Costello (0-2).
SUBS: C Brennan (0-1) for Hehir (23), M Hehir for Feerick (47), S Kirrane for K Mannion (55).
REFEREE: James Molloy (Salthill Knocknacara)