Mark Mannion’s two pointer books Salthill-Knocknacarra’s place into Connacht final
A DRAMATIC two-pointer from Mark Mannion deep into injury time secured Salthill-Knocknacarra’s place in the Connacht Senior Football Championship final after they edged out St Brigid’s by 0-14 to 1-10 at Pearse Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
St Brigid’s appeared to be in a commanding position at the interval, leading 1-7 to 0-4, but Salthill-Knocknacarra threw off the shackles after the restart and produced an impressive second-half comeback to defeat the reigning Connacht champions by the narrowest of margins.
Salthill-Knocknacarra entered this encounter following a four-point victory over Ballinamore in last weekend’s Connacht SFC quarter-final, while St Brigid’s had cruised to a comprehensive win over St Mary’s.
The sides had previously met at the same stage of the competition in 2012, when St Brigid’s emerged victorious on their way to reaching the provincial decider.
Although Salthill-Knocknacarra opened the scoring through Aaron Mannion following a patient three-minute spell of possession, the hosts struggled to contain St Brigid’s for much of the opening half.
The Roscommon champions registered the next four points, with Brian Derwin and Ben O’Carroll finding their range during the opening quarter, while Shane Cunnane also landed a two-pointer.
A misplaced short kickout from Ruairí Lavelle was intercepted by Conor Hand, who drove through the Salthill-Knocknacarra defence before firing the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs. A two-pointer from O’Carroll and another Derwin effort followed as St Brigid’s established a commanding 1-7 to 0-2 advantage after 24 minutes.
St Brigid’s were well organised defensively throughout the opening period, restricting the Galway champions to limited opportunities. It took until the 26th minute for Salthill-Knocknacarra to register their first score from an attacker, with Matthew Thompson splitting the posts before Rob Finnerty added another to reduce the deficit to six points at the interval.
Finian Hanley introduced Cillian O’Toole and Brian Conlon at half-time, and the Galway champions emerged with renewed energy and attacking intent.
O’Toole and Finnerty were both on target in the early stages of the second half to reduce the deficit to 1-7 to 0-6. Derwin responded to give St Brigid’s some breathing space, but further scores from Daniel O’Flaherty and a brace from Cathal Sweeney began to give the Seasiders renewed belief.
Ronan Stack stretched St Brigid’s advantage to three points on 47 minutes, but the momentum was firmly shifting in favour of the Galway champions. Finnerty and Conlon continued to make inroads into the deficit, with Salthill-Knocknacarra eventually drawing level at 1-9 to 0-12 after 57 minutes.
Having trailed for almost the entire contest, Salthill-Knocknacarra moved ahead for the first time since the third minute when Mannion produced a spectacular two-pointer in the 61st minute.
St Brigid’s were not finished, however, and had an opportunity to snatch victory when Conor Carroll's two-point free kick struck the upright. St Brigid’s defender Paul McGrath had a chance to win the game but Lavelle then produced an excellent save in the closing stages as Salthill-Knocknacarra held their nerve to secure a dramatic one-point victory.
The result sees the Galway champions advance to the Connacht Senior Football Championship final, where they will face Castlebar Mitchels as they look to add provincial honours to their county title.
SALTHILL KNOCKNACARRA: Ruairi Lavelle; Dara Conneely, Damien Kiely, Evan Wynne; Cathal Sweeney (0-2), Aaron Mannion (0-2), Mark Mannion (0-2, tp); John Maher, Michael Kitt; Mikey Mullery, Matthew Thompson (0-1), Paddy Kitt; Colm Finnerty, Robert Finnerty (0-4, 0-1 free), Tomo Culhane. SUBS: Daniel O’Flaherty (0-1) for Paddy Kitt (23), Cillian O’Toole (0-1) for Mullery (Half-time), Brian Conlon (0-1) for Colm Finnerty (Half-time), Daniel Hoare for Michael Kitt (51), Robert Walzer for Conlon (61).
ST BRIGID’S: Conor Carroll; Ruairi Smith, Brian Stack, Michael Surgue; Ronan Stack (0-1), Ruaidhri Fallon, Robbie Dolan; Mark Daly, Shane Cunnane (0-2, tpf); Brian O’Hara Duggan, Conor Hand (1-0), Bobby Nugent; Ben O’Carroll (0-3, 0-1 free, tp), Ciaran Surgue, Brian Derwin (0-3). SUBS: Eddie Nolan for Ciaran Surgue (37), Paul McvGrath for Cunnane (41), Charlie O’Caroll for Nugent (54).
REFEREE: Paul Lydon (Mayo).