Kevin Egan reports from Kenny Park
Liam Mellows 2-21
Cappataggle 1-21
THE TRAVAILS OF Galway hurling at county level were put aside for three entertaining hours at Kenny Park this afternoon as Liam Mellows and St. Thomas set up a repeat of the 2018 county senior hurling final thanks to wins over Cappataggle and Turloughmore respectively.
The action got underway with the slightly less high-profile clash of Liam Mellows and Cappataggle, a repeat of last year’s semi-final, when Mellows prevailed thanks to two injury-time points.
This proved to be the better game of the two as the contest quickly turned into a shootout. The scars of that 2018 defeat seemed to be fresh in Cappataggle minds as they exploded out of the blocks, with Ja Mannion and Alan Dolan incredibly lively in the forward line.
They got a huge break when a seemingly harmless shot from James Egan from 35 metres out was allowed to bounce and then was miscontrolled into the Mellows net by a defender, and points were quickly tacked on by Dolan and the influential midfielder, Dan Nevin.
Mellows soon settled however, with full forward Tadhg Haran in great form from frees and from placed balls, while a Conor Kavanagh goal helped them to take a 1-11 to 1-10 lead into the dressing room.
The second half was mesmerising, with the sides seeming inseparable. Haran, Conor Elwood and Jack Forde were all on the scoresheet as Mellows moved three clear at one stage, but Alan Dolan’s free-taking and some good points from Ja and Donal Mannion pulled Cappy back on terms.
One moment of brilliance was always likely to settle it and it was former Galway county player Aonghus Callanan who helped set it up as he slalomed around his man and teed up Kavanagh for another rifled shot past James Skehill in the 57th minute.
It finished 2-21 to 1-21 in favour of Mellows, with Haran ending the day with 0-13 (0-9f, 0-1 sideline) to his name.
St Thomas 3-14
Turloughmore 1-15
Two goals inside the first 10 minutes established the foundations of St. Thomas’ 3-14 to 1-15 win over Turloughmore in the second game. They’ll start the final as clear favourites to make it three county titles in four years after they produced a very effective and controlled performance against a highly rated Turloughmore side, even though they had to hold off a mini revival from Turloughmore late on, inspired by a goal from substitute Ronan Badger.
Galway star Daithí Burke was a doubtful starter coming into this game due to illness and while the dual player did line out at midfield, James Regan and David Burke controlled that sector throughout the hour’s play, giving their side a great base on which to build their win.
A pass from David Burke was flicked on by Conor Cooney into the path of Brendan Farrell for the game’s first goal after just 90 seconds, and while Turloughmore settled into the game with points from Conor Walsh and Seán Loftus, St. Thomas soon had their second goal from a Conor Cooney penalty, awarded for a trip on Farrell as he chased down a ball that crashed back into play off the crossbar.
Turloughmore were hugely dependent on frees from Walsh and Jamie Holland while Regan and Cooney fired over some good points from distance to leave it 2-8 to 0-8 in favour of the South Galway side at half-time.
The mountain that Turloughmore had to climb became positively Himalayan in the first minute of the second half when Oisín Flannery whipped the ball to the net with the first attack and from then on, Kevin Lally’s side were able to easily hold their opponents at bay.
A stunning diving save from James Barrett to deny Richard Doyle after 47 minutes severed Turloughmore’s last lifeline, and with 52 minutes on the clock they still led by nine, Turloughmore having scored just two points from play up to that stage.
A point from Barry McDonagh and Badger’s goal cut the gap, and the prospect of a dramatic finish was raised when Badger tried to charge through to defenders and get a shot on goal and referee Alan Kelly determined that he was dragged down. Badger pulled the penalty wide of the post however, and that was their last chance of scoring the second goal they badly needed.