The stuff of legends as Corofin pull off the title treble

Kilcoo (Down) 0-7

(After Extra-Time)

JUST as Zeus ruled over all the other Greek gods on Mount Olympus, so too, has a mythical Corofin elevated themselves above all of their illustrious rivals as they won a historic third consecutive All-Ireland senior club football title with victory over Kilcoo of Down in the final at Croke Park on Sunday.

And just as Zeus harnessed the power of the sky and thunder to rule supreme, Corofin also produced a devastating lightning strike in scoring an unanswered 1-4 in the first period of extra-time to reduce the ambitions of their Down opponents to ash.

Substitute Conor Cunningham was the tip of the lightning bolt, the 25-year-old scoring what will, eternally, be the most important goal of his sporting career in the 10th minute of extra-time to inscribe Corofin’s name into GAA folklore.

In front of a crowd of 25,930, Kevin O’Brien’s men fought a war of attrition with the Ulster champions and, although they seemed to break from Kilcoo’s shackles when taking a three-point lead heading into the final quarter of normal time, their spirited opponents reeled them back in to level up the tie at seven points apiece to take the fixture to extra-time.

The foolish among us in the stands feared for Corofin at this stage. Aside from letting a winning hand slip, Corofin’s legs seemed heavy and their discipline appeared to have deserted them with Michael Farragher receiving a red card (second yellow) and substitute Darragh Silke, within minutes of his introduction, black-carded.

Added to this, Kilcoo looked to have been re-energised by their late comeback, so much so they charged for the tunnel at the end of normal time like a raging tornado, blowing anyone who stood in their way out of it. Tempers flared. The god of war had arrived.

Yet, when the ball was thrown in at the start of extra-time, it was an all-powerful Corofin, with a superhuman effort, that emerged as the great deity of club football, underlining their divinity with a 10-minute blitz that cowed Kilcoo.

Man of the match and midfielder Ronan Steede kicked a super point — his third of the afternoon — following good work from Dylan McHugh four minutes into extra-time and this was quickly proceeded by similar well-worked scores from substitute Dylan Canney, the versatile Liam Silke and the composed Gary Sice (free).

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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