Cork 1-17
Galway 1-16
A LATE GOAL from Aidan Walsh rescued Cork after they appeared to be on the verge of exiting the All-Ireland SFC against Galway in the round 4 qualifier at Croke Park today.
Galway had lead 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time and were in the ascendancy for much of the match.
The Tribesmen built on their impressive first-half showing thereafter, with Michael Meehan, Sean Armstrong and Gary Sice among the scorers, and found themselves 0-16 to 0-13 ahead with less than ten minutes remaining.
However, their lack of killer instinct ultimately cost them, as Walsh palmed Pearse O’Neill’s pass into the net to bring Cork level late on.
Inspired by Walsh’s intervention, the Rebels added an extra four points to their tally, including a brilliant score by defender Michael Shields after a lung-bursting run from deep.
But there was still time for Meehan to blast in a goal from a 20-yard free for Galway in the dying moments to set up a nervy finish.
However, Cork held their nerve in the dying seconds to seal their passage into the next round. Conor Counihan’s side were grateful for the contributions of substitutes Paudie Kissane and Patrick Kelly while O’Neill and Ciaran Sheehan also finished the game strongly.
Alan Mulholland’s Galway team nearly pulled off a major upset but saw their campaign drawn to an end on the qualifier stage.
Scorers for Cork: Daniel Goulding 0-5 (0-4f), Aidan Walsh 1-1, Brian Hurley (0-2f), Pearse O’Neill, Ciaran Sheehan 0-2 each, James Loughrey, John O’Rourke, Damien Cahalane (0-1 ’45), Mark Collins, Michael Shields 0-1 each.Scorers for Galway: Michael Meehan 1-6 (1-3f), Sean Armstrong 0-4 (0-1f), Paul Conroy 0-2, Danny Cummins, Conor Doherty, Michael Martin, Gary Sice 0-1 each.
CORK: Alan Quirke; Michael Shields, Eoin Cadogan, Thomas Clancy; Damien Cahalane, Graham Canty, James Loughrey; Alan O’Connor, Pearse O’Neill; John O’Rourke, Aidan Walsh, Mark Collins; Daniel Goulding, Ciaran Sheehan, Brian Hurley.
Subs: Paul Kerrigan for O’Rourke (44), Paudie Kissane for Loughrey (48), Donncha O’Connor for Hurley (53), Patrick Kelly for Alan O’Connor (57), Jamie O’Sullivan for Clancy (60).
GALWAY: Manus Breathnach; Donal O’Neill, Finian Hanley, Johnny Duane; Sean Denvir, Gary O’Donnell, Gary Sice; Paul Conroy, Tom Flynn; John O’Brien, Sean Armstrong, Conor Doherty; Michael Martin, Michael Meehan, Danny Cummins.
Subs: Shane Walsh for Cummins (inj) (23), Fiontán O Curraoin for Flynn (53), Mike Farragher for Doherty (53), Adrian Varley for Martin (57).
Referee: David Gough (Meath)
