AIB Connacht senior club championship semi-final

PÁDRAIG PEARSES 1-8 **MOUNTBELLEW-MOYLOUGH 1-7           **

Kevin Egan at Dr. Hyde Park

The wet ground and chilly breeze that greeted the footballers of Pádraig Pearses and Mountbellew-Moylough were quickly forgotten about as these two near neighbours served up a fiery encounter at Dr. Hyde Park that was eventually settled by a stunning score from Pearses substitute Tom Butler in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

While there was a relative dearth of scoring, there was no shortage of quality on show as these two sides locked horns in a fascinating physical battle right from the start. A well-worked Hubert Darcy point got Pearses off the mark and that was followed by a nice finish from Leo Donnellan at the other end, though in general, strong defensive play was this game’s hallmark.

When there was a defensive lapse, it was punished ruthlessly. Colin Ryan’s long delivery into the Pearses full back line dropped onto Barry McHugh, who had taken advantage of a loss of concentration to find himself all alone just outside the small square. Paul Whelan was forced to attack the ball and McHugh was able to get enough of a touch to force the ball over the end line in what was the last score of the first quarter.

Immediate after the restart, the home side were back on terms, Paul Carey rising highest at the far post to add the final touch to Niall Carty’s floating handpass across the goalmouth.

A follow up score from Darcy edged Pearses in front, but Mountbellew-Moylough rallied again before half time with outstanding scores from Eoin Finnerty and Colin Ryan to take a narrow interval lead.

Chances may have been scarce, but the high-quality shooting continued after half-time. Barry McHugh clipped the ball over from a tight angle to get things underway, Ronan Daly came forward from centre back to cancel that out, then a stunning Michael Daly strike and a McHugh free, kicked off the wet ground from 40 metres out, pushed the lead back out to three.

While all this was happening, the intensity and physicality of the game never dropped, and referee Jerome Henry was forced to issue plenty of sanctions, including five black cards and a late second yellow for Mountbellew-Moylough midfielder Matthew Barrett.

Three of those black cards went to players from the Galway club, and the second of those – Shane Moran, after 46 minutes – proved hugely consequential. During his absence Pearses drew level again and while another wonderful kick from Gary Sweeney edged the Galwegians back into the lead with just over five minutes of normal time remaining, by now the momentum seemed to be behind Pat Flanagan’s men.

Moreover, the Offaly native had real quality to call on from his bench. Emmet Kelly swung over a fine score with his first touch to draw the sides level, and there was a sense that Pearses were getting better as the game went on.

Still, once the clock ticked past the hour mark and into injury time, it became clear that this game was going to swing on one or two key moments, and so it proved.

First, Barry McHugh attempted to claim a mark under pressure but was brought to ground while doing so, with Jerome Henry deciding that there was no foul committed, much to the chagrin of the vociferous travelling support. Pearses took possession and gradually worked the ball down the field and engineered an opening for Tom Butler, who was making his first senior appearance of the year after a long injury stoppage. All his work to get back on the field paid off as he split the uprights with a skyscraper of a kick, sending Pearses into a Connacht final clash with Knockmore in Ballina next month.  

Scorers for Pádraig Pearses: Paul Carey 1-0, Hubert Darcy 0-3, Ronan Daly 0-2, Conor Daly, Emmet Kelly, Tom Butler 0-1 each.

Scorers for Mountbellew-Moylough:  Barry McHugh 1-2 (0-1f), Leo Donnellan, Colin Ryan, Eoin Finnerty, Michael Daly, Gary Sweeney 0-1 each.

Pádraig Pearses: Paul Whelan; Gavin Downey, Mark Richardson, Anthony Butler; Conor Lohan, Ronan Daly, David Murray; Niall Daly, Conor Daly; Shane Carty, Niall Carty, Lorcán Daly; Conor Payne, Hubert Darcy, Paul Carey.

Subs: Caelim Keogh for Downey (half-time) Butler for Payne (42), Emmet Kelly for S Carty (52), Jack Tumulty for L Daly (55), Sean Ryan for Carey (60+4).  

Mountbellew-Moylough: Damien Boyle; James Foley, Billy Mannion, Colin Murray; Colin Ryan, John Daly, Gary Sweeney; Michael Daly, Matthew Barrett; Shane Moran, Paul Donnellan, Leo Donnellan; Patrick Kelly, Eoin Finnerty, Barry McHugh.

Subs: Gerard Donohue for P Donnellan (52)

Referee: Jerome Henry (Mayo)