Not at their best but Kilkerrin /Clonberne get the job done against Killererin

Killererin 0-7

Tomás Keating at Tuam Stadium

KILKERRIN/Clonberne were far from their best, but they did just enough to book their place in the Intermediate football championship final by defeating a tough Killererin team at Tuam Stadium on Sunday evening.

When these sides met in the group stage in July, Kilkerrin/Clonberne ran out 16-point victors, and the signs were ominous for Killererin. Many believed they would struggle to survive in the intermediate grade, but to manager Jimmy Screene’s credit, they regrouped and got the band back together with club legends Tom Hughes, Tommie Joyce, Tomás Fahy and Mícheál Boyle all returning to the fold.

They went on a run beating St. Gabriel’s and Williamstown in their remaining group fixtures and then upset the odds to knock out Oranmore/Maree in the quarter-finals.

In tight local derbies such as this, there can be many moments you can harken back to, and feel it had a major bearing on the outcome of the game. One such arrived in the 38th minute. Killererin were trailing 0-8 to 0-3, and it seemed like their opponents were beginning to pull clear.

Nevertheless, there came a significant ‘sliding doors moment’, as Daniel Flaherty raced through the centre, and laid the ball off to Kevin Murphy, who found Shane Hughes all alone on the edge of the square.

Hughes probably should’ve palmed it in, but he opted to catch the ball and turn onto his weaker right boot, but his low-effort was saved brilliantly by the legs of Kilkerrin/Clonberne ‘keeper Fiachna Mac an tSaoi. However, the ball ricocheted goa-wards but luckily for Patrick Gardiner’s side, skipper Chris Glynn was back on the line to save the day.

Hughes and co. were vehement that the ball had crossed the line, but referee Martin Flaherty looked at his umpires and waved play on. Subsequently,  Kilkerrin/Clonberne went straight down the field and the lively Conor Rabbitte fired over a fantastic score in what proved to be a four-point swing because instead of being two down, Killererin now found themselves six points in arrears.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app

The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.