Connacht AIB Intermediate Club Semi-final – Report

Carrigallen 3 ? 5
Menlough 1 ? 4

Carrigallen walked tall on Saturday when they convincingly defeated Galway kingpins, Menlough by double scores (3 ? 5 to 1 ? 4) in the Connacht intermediate football semi-final in Ballinamore.

Meanwhile Mayo champions, Tourmakeady, who defeated Roscommon?s Kilmore by three points (1 ? 8 to 1 ? 5) in the other semi-final, will be Carrigallen?s opponents in this weekend?s Connacht final.
Menlough grabbed an early lead in Saturday?s game when Brendan Costello put over a third minute free.

But CarrigallenÓgot on level terms some seven minutes later after Charles McGuinness found the target with a similar effort.
Following that Carrigallen took a grip on the proceedings when Andrew McManus and Noel Doonan combined well in the fourteenth minute for Doonan to shoot the game?s first goal.

A second CarrigallenÓgoal four minutes later from Terence Reynolds, after he fielded a ball that ricochet off the post, following a Charles McGuinness free, dealt a hammer blow to Menlough?s challenge.
The Galway men responded with points from frees, which were hit over by Robert Hughes and Brendan Costello over the next eight minutes.
Charles McGuinness converted a free before the interval that gave Carrigallen a five points halftime cushion (2 ? 2 to 0 ? 3).
Menlough made a determined effort to turn the game around in the third quarter but the Carrigallen defence plugged every gap with the result that the Galway side only managed to cut the deficit by a solitary point.
Robert Hughes registered this score when he tapped over a forty-third minute free.

Carrigallen went back resolutely on the offensive in the final quarter after Charles McGuinness hammered home his side?s third goal, following a piecing of indecisive fielding by two Menlough defenders close to their goalmouth.
Over the next ten minutes the Leitrim side ensured victory when Terence Reynolds, sub Derek Mulligan and Charles McGuinness added Carrigallen points from play.

It was proving to be an unpleasant trip to Leitrim for the Galway champions and there were further problems for the Menlough men before the end when Brendan Costello was dismissed for committing a second yellow card offence.
But Menlough did manÓge a consolationÓgoal when Robert Hughes drove to the Carrigallen net, deep in injury time, in a crowded goalmouth situation.

Carrigallen: Enda Lyons, Ciaran Harte, David Flynn, Dermot Mulligan, Garry Reynolds, J. P. McManus, Carl Ward, Noel Doonan 1 ? 0, Cliff Richardson, Eamon O?Malley, Andrew McManus, Terence Reynolds 1 ? 1, Ciaran Flynn, Charles McGuinness 1 ? 3, Benny O?Rourke. Subs Derek Mulligan 0 ? 1 for O?Rourke (37 mins.), Ray Reilly for C. Flynn (37 mins.), Darren McGovern for O?Malley (56 mins.), Derek Mulligan for A. McManus (57 mins.), Hugh Magee for Ward (57 mins.).

Menlough: Damien Concannon, Cathal Jordan, Thomas Hansberry, Barry Laheen, Derwin Costello, Peter Kelly, Joe Glynn, Robert Hughes 1 ? 2, Sean Mannion, Mark Costello, Damien Costello, David Laheen, Brendan Costello 0 ? 2, Fintan Finnerty, Seamus Mitchell. Subs RonanÓgeraghty for Mitchell (25 mins.), Hugh Keely for Geraghty (40 mins.), David Reilly for D. Laheen (46 mins.), Liam Lawless for Jordan (53 mins.).

Referee: Oliver Kelly (Roscommon).

 

 

29-Nov-06 by PJ Leddy