Corofin 0-15
Tuam Stars 2-9
Declan Rooney reports from Tuam Stadium
GARY SICE KICKED two nerveless frees deep in added-time to rescue Corofin and sent the Galway SFC final to a replay for the second year in-a-row following a cracking decider with Tuam Stars at St Jarlath’s Park.
Tuam looked to be certain winners when Jamie Murphy added to his 53rd-minute penalty with a super point in the 63rd minute, but Corofin held their composure and Sice delivered with the final kick.
There were three major changes for Corofin before throw-in with Kieran Fitzgerald and Daithí Burke missing out, while team captain Micheál Lundy was also left out of the starting 15 at the last minute.
After winning the toss Tuam Stars elected to play with the very strong wind behind them in the first half, and although they led at half time, they probably felt they could have done more having accumulated six wides by the interval.
It took seven minutes for the game’s first score to arrive when Liam Silke split the posts following a typical run from deep to gain possession late on. In the absence of Daithí Burke, Kieran Molloy started at midfield and he almost crept in for a goal a minute later, but the Tuam defence scrambled well and denied him.
A free from Brian Mannion got Stars – record winners of the county title with 24 wins – up and running in the ninth minute and after that point, their game plan seemed to work well. At the back one of the late introductions into the team, Darragh O’Rourke, quenched plenty of Corofin attacks, while on the left flank Brendan Mashengele was busy on the hind and front foot.
Corofin claimed a 0-2 to 0-1 lead following a turnover on their right side, which was finished off by Martin Farragher, but two-in-a-row from Noel Henry and Brian Mannion gave Tuam the lead for the first time by the end of the first quarter.
Corofin had their goals chances with Michael Farragher denied on a couple of occasions, but they worked a couple of good scores with Jason Leonard and Molloy on target.
Two points in-a-row from Tuam were followed by their goal four minutes from the break when Paul Collins broke through the middle and exchanged passes with Garry O’Donnell, before he palmed to the net for a 1-5 to 0-4 lead.
But Corofin finished the half strongly and a Leonard free was followed by points from Liam Silke and Michael Farragher to leave Tuam’s half-time lead at the minimum, 1-5 to 0-7.
The arrival of Lundy into the action at half-time was followed by a driving run from Molloy and a score seconds after the restart, but Tuam soon reclaimed and added to their lead thanks to two-in-a-row from Brian Mannion.
The prospect of a first defeat in the county championship since 2012 was the trigger for Corofin to begin to pile on the pressure. They had a great chance to retake the lead following a foul on Leaonrd, but Liam Silke’s penalty crashed clear off the post. Seconds later Silke also had a goal bound shot blocked by the hungry Tuam defence.
Leonard’s long-range free gave Corofin some reward though and he added a fine curled point from open play to level the game in the 42nd minute. Sice’s free a minute later put Corofin back in front.
The storm appeared to have been weathered by Corofin at that stage, but seven minutes from time a pull on Brian Mannion resulted in a penalty, which was expertly converted by Jamie Murphy to give Tuam a 2-8 to 0-12 lead.
Corofin sprung Daithí Burke six minutes from the end as they sought to close the two-point deficit and Sice landed a stunning point from the right to put one score between them. Murphy appeared to have won it for Tuam with a lovely curled effort in the third minute of added-time, but Sice’s two frees forced a replay.
Corofin scorers: Jason Leonard 0-4 (2f), Gary Sice 0-4 (3f), Liam Silke 0-2, Michael Farragher 0-2, Kieran Molloy 0-2, Martin Farragher 0-1,
Tuam Stars scorers: Brian Mannion 0-5 (2f), Jamie Murphy 1-1 (1-0 pen), Paul Collins 1-0, Ben O’Connell 0-1, Noel Henry 0-1, Gavan Connell 0-1
Corofin
1. Bernard Power
17. Cathal Silke
5. Ciaran McGrath
2. Ross Mahon
4. Liam Silke
6. Dylan McHugh
7. Conor Cunningham
8. Kieran Molloy
9. Ronan Steede
10. Gary Sice
11. Dylan Wall
12. Jason Leonard
13. Ian Burke
14. Martin Farragher
26. Michael Farragher
Substitutes
15. Micheál Lundy for Mahon (half-time)
3. Daithí Burke for Cunningham (54)
18. Gavin Burke for Wall (58).
Tuam Stars
1. Jonathan Trayers
17. Rory O’Connor
3. Aonghus Tierney
4. Brian O’Donnell
19. Darragh O’Rourke
5. Noel Henry
2. Brendan Mashengele
8. Conor Rhatigan
9. Paul Collins
10. Gary O’Donnell
6. Ben O’Connell
18. Jamie Murphy
13. Brian Mannion
14. Michael Mannion
11. Seamus Kelly
Substitutes
15. Gavan Connell for Henry (46)
22. Cormac McWalter for S Kelly (56).
Referee: Gearóid Ó Conámha.
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Well done. Great Cause
Could have come first if he didn’t stop to take the bloody selfie….Great man. Great cause. Lovely story.
Selfie mehole. Soon as the picture was taken, he hopped on a sleigh with 12 huskies pulling him along, and cracked open a bottle of powers
The only reason he didn’t win was because he spent the first 3 days going in the wrong direction.
Wow! There really are some fantastic human beings around! And he is one!!
What a lazy fecker.
SECOND?
Fair play to him, great cause and a great performance to match
I know, whats with the article he didn’t even win like?
Hadn’t have slept those 6 hours he might have won lazy fecker. Congratulations though that’s some achievement.
And the race is from where to where?
Exactly! Any chance of including what’s actually involved in the race?
As his medal says “finisher” coz most people can’t finish the toughest course in the world (probably) And that little boy will smile ear to ear after he recovers Fair fox ta ya man fair fox ta ya.
Respect …. Wow ….. Well done
Cmon the tribesmen
North to Alaska/Johhny Horton
Sam crossed the majestic mountains (mush)
To the valleys far below (mush)
He talked to his team of huskies (mush)
As he mushed on through the snow (mush)
With the northern lights a-runnin’ wild (mush)
In the land of the midnight sun (mush)
Yes, Sam McCord was a mighty man (mush)
In the year of nineteen-one (mush)
………And so is Gavan Hannigan a Mighty Man too.Well done Gavan!
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
(Robert Service poem).
@Pat Gorman…….
The Spell of the Yukon
I wanted the gold, and I sought it, I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy — I fought it; I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold, and I got it — Came out with a fortune last fall, —
Yet somehow life’s not what I thought it, And somehow the gold isn’t all.
No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?) It’s the cussedest land that I know,
From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when He made it; Some say it’s a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it For no land on earth — and I’m one.
-
-A Great Week-end to You Pat Gorman.
Who came third?
Great cause but to come second should be ashamed of himself
Phenomenal performance!! Tough race to finish let alone finish 2nd, well done
Superb Gavin , I suppose they’ll expect you to win the all Ireland for Galway now.
Fair dues man :)
If your not first your last!! Great achievement.while fitness is important its the will and desire to keep going that is most impressive,well done.
Well done. Inspirational.
Amazing stuff.. but yes we need more info please !
Some achievement. . Well done. .
Where in galway is he from?
He came second out of 2
people were still finishing 3 days after he finished!, more detail about this gruelling event is needed in the article.
The Yukon!
The land of the Sourdough.
One of the toughest places on earth.
Recommended Good Read:
Micí Mac Gabhann’s “Rotha Mór an tSaoil”.
That procedure not available here in Nirvana, no?