Inside Track: Salthill Knocknacarra men step up to be counted

But there was one more dramatic twist to come before a crowd of over 5,000. The outstanding John Maher fielded the resulting kick-out, put the influential Matthew Thompson away before he teed up Culhane for a terrific low finish to the far corner of the net. Immediately, Maigh Cuilinn knew the game was up and their hold on the Frank Fox Cup was over.

But how on earth did Salthill end up claiming a fourth county title and their first since 2012 given some of the match statistics? Falling four points behind due solely to Dessie Conneely's scoring input, Finian Hanley's team didn't register until Mark Mannion found the target in the 25th minute – and all of this while playing with the wind!

Furthermore, Rob Finnerty, who had already amassed 5-28 in the championship, failed to score, while injured team captain Daniel O'Flaherty only entered the fray at half-time. In the other corner was a Maigh Cuilinn outfit seemingly at the peak of their powers. The title holders had simply bulldozed their way to a sixth final in seven years.

In fact, some of the talk ahead of the final focused on the prospects of Maigh Cuilinn claiming the All-Ireland title next spring. Neutrals knew Salthill would offer their biggest test of the campaign, but hardly anyone could imagine the Seasiders carrying the day. Odds of 5/2 against them winning summed up the scale of the their challenge.

And after Conneely had registered those opening four points and Eoghan Kelly showing he had Finnerty's measure, Salthill – despite being up for the battle – were already badly in need of inspiration. And that's where Tomo came in. His introduction after 21 minutes helped to turn the final on its head.

He raised a pair of orange flags, sent over a free and, suddenly, Salthill had reached the break 0-6 to 0-4 ahead, but surely it wasn't enough of a cushion given that they would have to face the elements in the second half. The challengers' tails were up, however. They stormed intro a 1-9 to 0-5 lead on the resumption with Michael Kitt emerging as an influential figure.

Their goal came when a Rob Finnerty effort was finished to the net by his brother Colm, who also picked off a point. O'Flaherty, Paddy Kitt and Thompson (2) raised white flags too leaving Maigh Cuilinn in all sorts of trouble. But their response to the crisis was laudable. Niall Walsh, in particular was defiant, picking off five points, while substitute Owen Gallagher was also making his presence fact.

And when the former Antrim player's shot struck the crossbar in the 56th minute, Paul Kelly was in the right place to blast home the rebound. The teams were level at 1-12 each and the smart money was now on Maigh Cuilinn to finish the job. And it looked like they had done so when Cooke landed a superb two-pointer only for Tomo to emerge as the hero of the hour with that seismic stoppage time score.

No wonder the Salthill post-match celebrations were a sight to behold. Hanely was right afterwards when he stated that the impression out there is that the club has won a lot. Instead, they had only captured three senior title in 60 years prior to last Sunday. You could label them as under-achievers, but all that will be forgotten this week in a the wake of a stunning triumph which will live long in their memory.

The Maigh Cuilinn camp, however, must be devastated. With former Mayo manager James Horan among their backroom team, no stone was being left unturned in their preparations. They had several causes too – not least the honouring of Galway and local legend Paul Clancy – but perhaps they were unwittingly disarmed about all the hype suggesting they were serious All-Ireland contenders. And as we have seen countless times before, winning matches by cricket scores on their way to the final didn't have Maigh Cuilinn sufficiently road-tested for what Salthill threw at them.

Hurling Final

ANYTIME, there's a new team in a county final, it adds intrigue and interest to the fixture. Well, take a bow Tommy Larkins whose supporters are bound to travel in huge numbers to Salthill on Sunday for their big-match clash with title holders Loughrea who are on the trail of a notable three-in-a-row.

Having beaten the title holders in the opening round of the championship is probably a double-edged sword for Larkins. Psychologically, it's an obvious boost but Loughrea were undercooked back in August and also had no shortage of injury problems to deal with. Tommy Kelly's team were subsequently vulnerable at times, but kept getting the job done.

Trailing Craughwell by three points after 53 minutes in the county semi-final, Loughrea had it all to do, but sub Jack Shaughnessy helped to turn the tide and scoring nine of the last ten points shows that the champions have an extra gear when they need it. Still, it's been hard work for them and long term injury victim Kieran Hanrahan remains a big loss.

Larkins are unlikely to be overawed by the occasion. They have plenty of experience and know chances like these don't come along too often. In Jason Flynn, the Murphy brothers, Eanna and Ronan, Kevin McHugo, Cian Daniels and Conor Gardiner among others, they have at least the scope to frighten the lives out of the champions.