Monahan’s late strike hands Caherlistrane dramatic win
Caherlistrane 2-5
Barna 0-10
By Ivan Smyth at Tuam Stadium
PERSISTENCE pays! Caherlistrane somehow conjured up a precious win Joe Monahan’s 63rd minute goal helped his side secure a sensational victory at Tuam Stadiunm on Saturday.
Tommie Joyce’s side were second best for large stages of this contest, but to Caherlistrane’s credit they continued to believe even when a free apiece from Oisin Gormley and Donal Folan helped Barna lead 0-10 to 1-5 with almost three minutes of injury time played. A contest which had failed to capture the imagination looked set to peter out with Barna playing keep ball late on as they sought to protect their two point lead.
During the four minutes of injury time, the city side tried to keep possesion with Caherlistrane unable to gain a hold of the football. David Donnellan’s side appeared comfortable with this tactic as they operated around the left wing forward channel. However, instead of keeping the play there, they went backwards towards their own goal.
Goalkeeper James Keane and Sean Fitzgerald both killed the clock effectively but the decision to play around their own goalmouth was inviting a Caherlistrane press. The plan backfired as Niall Cox received possession facing his own goal before his attempted pass to Keane was disrupted by Caherlistrane’s half time sub Stephen Lawless. The ball broke to Joe Monahan, who showed admirable composure to round Keane and fire low to the net.
This moved Caherlistrane ahead for the first time in the contest but there was still time for more drama! Lawless, on as a half time sub, was given his marching orders after receiving a booking which combined with his earlier black card led to his dismissal. Keane launched one final ball in on top of the Caherlistrane defence, but Tom Curran’s effort was blocked amidst a forest of bodies as Joyce’s side held on for a surprise win.
Pictured: Cian Molloy of Caherlistrane tries to halt the progress of Barna's Aaron Kavanagh during Saturday's Senior Football Championship Group 2 tussle at Tuam Stadium. Photos: Hany Marzouk.