The Coolera Strandhill team celebrate after the AIB Connacht GAA Senior Club Football Championship final match between Coolera-Strandhill and Pádraig Pearses at Markievicz Park GAA Stadium in Sligo. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile.
AIB Connacht Club SFC Final
COOLERA-STRANDHILL 1-15 PÁDRAIG PEARSES 1-14
Kevin Egan at Markievicz Park
After Extra Time
It will be a joyous Christmas on the Sligo coast after Coolera-Strandhill pulled off one of the shocks of the AIB club championships so far, edging out Pádraig Pearses by a single point in a thrilling Connacht final this afternoon at Markievicz Park.
14 Pádraig Pearses wides and six shots dropped short will be cited as a key factor in the demise of the South Roscommon club, that recorded knockout wins over both St. Brigid’s and Corofin already this year, but that would be to downplay a superb 20 minutes at the end of normal time from Coolera-Strandhill, as they came back from five points down to force extra-time.
It was the Sligo champions who had the best chance to snatch victory at the end of the hour, but Mark McDaniel pulled his effort wide from 25 metres out, which meant the sides were tied at 1-9 to 0-12 after 60 minutes, and another 20 was needed.
Coolera-Strandhill didn’t miss a beat, picking up where they left off. Niall Murphy kicked his fifth point, a testament to his ability to stay in a game where David Murray was causing him plenty of problems, but the real break was when Murphy floated a long free into the box and Ross Doherty came up with the vital touch, punching the ball into the top corner of the net to push the lead out to four points.
With the finish line in sight, there was an understandable element of trepidation in a side that was bidding to become the first Sligo club to win senior provincial honours since St. Mary’s won their third title back in 1983, and the last three points of the game all went the way of Pearses, who piled on the pressure in the closing minutes.
However by now there was a jittery quality to their attack that was utterly uncharacteristic, and they were unable to force an equalising score, instead dropping one final effort short.
Coolera-Strandhill were the better side in the early stages too, with Kevin Banks and Oran Harte kicking outstanding scores as they moved 0-4 to 0-2 in front by the midway point in the first half. Both sides struggled to retain their own kickout and the soft underfoot conditions meant that even the slightest handling error meant that the man in possession was swallowed up very quickly. However the second quarter was dominated by Pearses, and points from Conor Daly, Jack Tumulty (two) and an Eoin Colleran free left them with the upper hand at the interval, 0-7 to 0-5.
A majestic Keelan Harte kick from 55 metres halved that gap after the break but it felt like the contest was Pearses’ to lose when Paul Carey forced a turnover at midfield and two passes later, Tumulty was impeded as he went to shoot for goal.
Declan Kenny slotted home the penalty, Colleran followed up with a free, and a Coolera-Strandhill side that had a humbling experience at the hands of St. Brigid’s in Dr. Hyde Park 12 months ago suddenly looked like they might be in for another tough defeat.
The experience of that intervening 12 months and the resolve they had to show in winning the Sligo final after a replay and then overcoming Ballina Stephenites on penalties showed however, and point by point, with Murphy, Kevin Banks and substitute Adam Higgins all having a huge impact, they drew level and had the better chances going into injury time.
Pearses had the last big chance at the end of the hour when Eoin Colleran was fouled, but with Paul Carey off the field with an injury, it was Emmett Kelly who stood up to take the free, and when his shot tailed wide of the town end goal from 40 metres out, Coolera-Strandhill had one more reprieve that they weren’t going to waste.
Scorers for Pádraig Pearses: Eoin Colleran 0-5 (0-4f), Declan Kenny 1-2 (1-0 pen), Jack Tumulty 0-3 (0-1f), Conor Daly 0-2, Conor Ryan 0-1, Jack Nevin 0-1.
Scorers for Coolera-Strandhill: Niall Murphy 0-5 (0-4f), Ross Doherty 1-0, Adam Higgins 0-3, Kevin Banks 0-2, Aaron O’Boyle 0-1, Oran Harte 0-1, Ross O’Carroll 0-1, Keelan Harte 0-1, Seán Taylor 0-1.
Pádraig Pearses: Paul Whelan; Gavin Downey, Niall Carty, David Murray; Declan Kenny, Caelim Keogh, Conor Harley; Conor Ryan, Niall Daly; Conor Daly, Ronan Daly, Adam McGreal; Eoin Colleran, Paul Carey, Jack Tumulty.
Subs: Seán Canning for McGreal (40), Conor Lohan for Downey (50), Jack Nevin for Tumulty (51), Emmett Kelly for Carey (60), Tumulty for Kelly (full-time), Mark Richardson for Canning (72), Kelly for Keogh (73).
Coolera-Strandhill: Keelan Harte; Conor McDonagh, Seán Taylor, Seán Murphy; Jonathan Cassidy, Ross O’Carroll, Oran Harte; Kevin Banks, Peter Laffey; Aaron O’Boyle, Barry O’Mahony, Ross Doherty; Leo Doherty, Niall Murphy, Mark McDaniel.
Subs: Adam Higgins for O’Boyle (36), Luke Bree for Cassidy (68), Hugh Rooney for L Doherty (70), Conor Burke for Kevin Banks (76).
Referee: Thomas Murphy (Galway).
