Corofin 1-6
Moorefield 0-6
Fintan O’Toole reports from Tullamore
A REMARKABLE ALL-Ireland club semi-final success for Galway’s Corofin this afternoon as they pounced for the only goal of the game in the 59th minute and overcame the handicap of playing for over an hour with 14 men against Kildare’s Moorefield.
Corner-back Liam Silke was Corofin’s unlikely scoring hero as cut through the heart of the Moorefield defence late on when he received an offload from Ian Burke and finished with aplomb to the net.
Michael Farragher had produced a brilliant turnover in the middle third and won a free which was the launchpad for that telling Corofin move and Dylan Wall supplied an excellent delivery to Burke.
Corofin defended stoutly in injury-time and repelled Moorefield’s advances to reach the All-Ireland final for the second time in four seasons.
The match was jolted into life after 74 seconds when referee Derek O’Mahoney brandished a red card towards Corofin attacker Martin Farragher.
It looked an innocuous challenge by Farragher on Moorefield defender Liam Healy inside the first minute after the full-back fell to the ground following a superb catch but the dismissal took place and Corofin were hit with an early setback.
It had a major impact on the game as a low-scoring and scrappy tussle unfolded. Scores were hard to come by in the first half with the teams tied at 0-2 apiece at the interval. Moorefield struggled to break down Corofin’s rearguard and the 14 men could have gone ahead by the midway mark but Michael Lundy blasted a low shot wide of the post after being found with a lovely pass by Ian Burke.
Corofin producing a marvellous start to the second half as they rattled off three points inside five minutes courtesy of Gary Sice, Burke and Ronan Steede.
They still held that 0-5 to 0-2 advantage entering the final quarter before the Moorefield faithful in the 4,138 attendance had cause to cheer as their sprung to life. A long scoring drought was ended when Eanna O’Connor converted a 48th minute free and that was quickly followed by scores from Aaron Mullins and James Murray, a superb individual effort, to tie the teams with ten minutes left.
Sice nudged Corofin in front, Cian O’Connor replied for Moorefield and then Sice spurned a chance to restore their lead when his free from an advantageous position dropped short.
Extra-time looked a prospect before Silke pounced for that late crucial intervention for the Galway champions.
Scorers for Corofin: Liam Silke 1-0, Gary Sice 0-3 (0-3f), Ronan Steede, Jason Leonard, Ian Burke 0-1 each.
Scorers for Moorefield: Eanna O’Connor 0-2 (0-2f), James Murray, Cian O’Connor, Aaron Mullins, David Whyte 0-1 each.
Corofin
1. Bernard Power
3. Kieran Fitzgerald
4. Cathal Silke
2. Liam Silke
5. Kieran Molloy
7. Dylan Wall
8. Michael Farragher
23. Daithi Burke
9. Ronan Steede
11. Michael Lundy
10. Gary Sice
12. Jason Leonard
15. Colin Brady
14. Martin Farragher
13. Ian Burke
Subs
18. Barry O’Donovan for Brady (51)
6. Conor Cunningham for Michael Farragher (61)
19. Dylan McHugh for Wall (61)
20. Darragh Silke for Leonard (63)
Moorefield
1. Tom Kinsella
2. Liam Callaghan
3. Liam Healy
7. Mark Dempsey
5. James Murray
6. Kevin Murnaghan
4. Sean Healy
9. Aaron Masterson
14. Ronan Sweeney
28. Anthony Durney
12. David Whyte
20. Cian O’Connor
15. Eanna O’Connor
13. Niall Hurley Lynch
11. Eddie Heavey
Subs
30. Adam Tyrell for Durney (35)
17. Ian Meehan for Heavey (41)
21. Mark Murrray for Tyrell (black card) (46)
10. Aaron Mullins for Hurley-Lynch (48)
19. Adam Sweeney for Whyte (61)
Referee: Derek O’Mahoney (Tipperary)
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Yerra
@John McK: Yawn.
TF: I’m coming out of retirement!
FBI: We’d like a word…
TF: I’m announcing my retirement!
The parties are too good after retirement , so let’s have another one .
Pinch of salt comes to mind
@Brendan Byrne: Absolutely. If he’s retired then he should stfu give up the belt. Until he vacates that belt he’s not retired and he’s not fooling anyone with this nonsense
Love to see him fight both Joshua and especially Usyk
To me Usyk is something very special over and above all the others – and perhaps the one that Tyson really fears
If he is the man that many of us hope he is and he takes on and beats such an impressive fighter as Usyk with his own impressive back stories then Furey will be up their in the pantheon of the very best
What will he go at instead, off the rails and another sad act