AIB All-Ireland Club IFC semi-final
Dunmore MacHales (Galway) 1-9 Galbally (Tyrone) 4-4
TYRONE and Ulster champions Galbally’s ability to get goals proved to be the difference at St Loman’s in Mullingar on Saturday as they held off a stern challenge from Galway’s Dunmore MacHales to quality for the All-Ireland intermediate final.
Man-of-the-match Ronan Nugent bagged a brilliant first-half hat-trick of goals to enable the Pearses to lead by two points at the break despite playing against a stiff breeze.
The common consensus was that they had one foot in the final but credit goes to the Connacht champions who produced a sterling second-half display.
Not only did they draw level but when full-forward Padraig Costello knocked over his sixth free of the day they found themselves in front with just three minutes of normal time left to play.
Questions were being asked of Galbally, but from the next kick-out the superb Cormac Donnelly took a great catch and looked up and saw Daniel Kerr inside. Kerr did the rest as he side-stepped his marker to drill low to the net to win the game.
“There are fine margins in games and Cormac’s catch was brilliant and you wouldn’t have wanted a better man on the end of his pass than Daniel,” said Galbally attacker Sean Murphy.
“They were a brilliant football side and we just knew that coming in. It was a hard battle and we had to pull it out of the fire at the end. It was touch and go there in the last five minutes whenever they went a point up. You just want to get over the line. It’s going to be a momentous day for our club to play at Croke Park but we are there to win it as good as it is to get to HQ, we have one more step to go.”
Nugent soccer-styled his first goal after only three minutes but Dunmore responded to go three ahead with points from Shane McGrath and Dylan Brady as well as a Damien Redington goal. Despite playing against the wind Galbally played a smart running game with Nugent burst through to fire an unstoppable shot to the roof of the net.
A Costello free briefly restored Dunmore’s lead but then Nugent completed his hat-trick with another explosive finish as the Pearses led 3-1 to 1-5 at the break.
It looked as though Galbally would push on in the second half but they hit six wides in a row and that gave their opponents energy.
Costello and Thomas Gleeson closed the gap and after the former had levelled matters he then put his side in front. That’s when Kerr grabbed that vital fourth goal and they closed the game out with points from Conor Donaghy and Nugent.
Dunmore: C Gleeson, C Lyons, D Rattigan, T Gleeson (0-1), D Forde, S Murray, L Murray, D Redington (1-0), C Mitchell, M Redington, D Brady (0-1), S McGrath (0-1), T Cronin, P Costello (0-6 frees), J Coen. Subs: B Carr for Coen, M Cleary for Cronin
Galbally: R McGeary, J Hetherington, C Quinn, Conor Donnelly, M Lennon, C Morris, L Rafferty (0-1), E McGarrity, Cormac Donnelly, S Wylie, C Donaghy (0-1 free), R Nugent (3-1), B Carberry, D Kerr (1-1), S Murphy
Subs: A Carberry for B Carberry, F McGarrity for Lennon, M Donnelly for Kerr, S Mulgrew for Murphy
Referee: B Cawley (Kildare)
