Salthill men catch fire late on in blasting title warning

ST. JAMES’ 0-17

By DAVID CONNORS AT PEARSE STADIUM

FOR three quarters of this game, you felt underdogs St. James’ had a chance. But a fourth quarter surge from Salthill/Knocknacarra, which produced a scoring burst of 3-5 unanswered, saw them cruise into the final four of the Galway Senior Football Championship at their ease to set up a repeat of last year’s semi-final with champions Corofin.

Four second-half goals – three of them in a devastating three-minute spell from Rob Finnerty (two), Tomo Culhane and Evan Nolan – left St James’ reeling and turned what had been a finely poised derby into a procession. For Finian Hanley and his players, it was an emphatic statement of intent. For the vanquished, it was a harsh reminder of where they need to climb to just to be considered genuine Frank Fox contenders.

St James’ opened the scoring with a point from Dessie Hynes, fashioned brilliantly by Paul Conroy’s precision kick-pass and Johnny Duane’s surging run. Almost immediately, however, the tone was set. Matthew Thompson responded with a ferocious left-footed finish to the bottom corner, raising the first green flag of the afternoon in the third minute

From that moment on, Salthill/Knocknacarra would never trail. Yet playing into the breeze, they were guilty of wastefulness. Seven wides in succession allowed St James’ to grow into the contest.

With Jack Nolan helping them gain a foothold on the kickouts, Jonah Culligan working tirelessly at centre back and goalkeeper Cian Costello deadly from placed balls, the underdogs made every chance count. In contrast to Salthill/Knocknacarra, St James’ first six shots all hit the target, leaving the sides deadlocked (1-4 to 0-7) approaching half-time.

It was here that the influence of the outstanding Cathal Sweeney first came to the fore. The wing-back clipped over two superb two-pointers either side of a Rob Finnerty free to ensure Salthill/Knocknacarra held a four-point cushion at the break (1-8 to 0-7).

The question as the teams emerged for the second half was whether that margin would be enough, especially with Salthill/Knocknacarra now facing into the stiff breeze.

Five minutes after the restart, Sweeney’s driving run was illegally halted and referee Austin O’Connell signalled for a penalty. Finnerty stepped up and, despite Costello’s fingertips getting a touch, rifled home to stretch the lead seven.

To their credit, St James’ refused to buckle. Even without key attacker Jack Nolan, withdrawn at half-time, and the absent Sam O’Neill, they continued to dig in. Conroy’s leadership was key during this period and the Galway star nailed two booming frees worth double scores under the new rules, while Costello continued his remarkable contribution with another two-point free from distance.

As we approached the final quarter, St James’ had the gap back to three (2-10 to 0-13). And at that stage, the contest hung in the balance. The prospect of a grandstand finish was real, and the decent crowd sensed the possibility of an upset.

Pictured: St James' Johnny Duane battling for possession with Matthew Thompson of Salthill-Knocknacarra during Sunday's Senior Football quarter-final at Pearse Stadium. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.