Sensational Pádraig Pearses upset Corofin to reach Connacht semis
Padraig Goal Side's Quarter Sfc Picture: ©inpho/lorraine His Of Club Against Nevin In Celebrates O’sullivan Decisive: The After Second Jack Connacht Scoring Pearses Corofin Final
The Andy Merrigan Cup race lost a front runner this afternoon, while another dark horse emerged from the pack to take their place among the most fancied contenders.
Pádraig Pearses, Connacht champions in 2021, weren’t an unknown quantity as they headed to Tuam Stadium, but they were considered to be up against it when taking on the five-time All-Ireland champions on familiar soil.
The final margin of two scores shouldn’t be allowed to mask how dominant the south Roscommon club were over the course of the hour. They were scintillating in the first half, they dictated the terms of the game for the next 20, and while four points in a row from Corofin from the 54th minute onwards threatened a smash and grab result, a late breakaway goal for Jack Nevin was exactly what Pearses deserved.
Corofin got the start they wanted posting points from Dylan Canney and Darragh Silke in the opening five minutes while controlling the ball well, but the next 25 was an absolute landslide, as Pearses overwhelmed the five-time All-Ireland champions, outscoring their opponents by 1-8 to 0-1 with some scintillating football that was tenacious and relentless in defence, and utterly ruthless in attack.
The veteran contingent of Niall Daly, Conor Daly, David Murray and Niall Carty all rolled back the years with vintage performances that loaded the gun, but up front Paul Carey and Eoin Colleran were ruthless in their marksmanship, scoring 1-6 between them in the first half, just two of those scores from frees.
A trademark skyscraper point from Niall Daly was the score that got Pearses back on terms, and some outstanding direct deliveries into Colleran and Carey allowed them to nudge the Roscommon club into the lead.
Jack Tumulty was much quieter in the full forward line but his explosion of pace was still crucial in setting up Paul Carey for his goal in the 12th minute, and Corofin seemed to have no answer.
Luck didn’t favour the Galway club at times – Jack McCabe had an attempt from the left wing that was adjudged to have gone wide after a lengthy dispute – but a remarkable goal-line clearance from Paul Carey to deny Brian Cogger after the Corofin man took a pass from Conor Cunningham and beat Paul Whelan with his shot, proved that scores were going to be incredibly hard to come by.
Declan Kenny sprinted down the right flank and stroked the ball over with his left, Carey rounded off the half with another explosive burst of pace after he easily shrugged off the attention of Dylan McHugh, and the rapturous applause from the substantial Pearses crowd showed that they understood the commanding position that they had established.
The scores dried up in the second half, but that owed as much to conservatism, and making sure not to give Corofin the oxygen of a goal, as much as anything else.
By the midway point in the second half just two points had been added to the scoreboard, a fisted effort from Micheál Lundy and a Kieran Molloy strike from distance, but points from a Carey free and Conor Harley’s close range punch ensured there was still seven points between the sides going into the last ten minutes.
With Pearses camping out inside their own 45, some excellent strikes from distance in those closing stages helped Corofin to rattle off four in a row and hint at the idea of a smash and grab raid, but by now they had to take huge risks to try and force the issue, and when Declan Kenny picked up a breaking ball from a kickout with Bernard Power out of his goal, one accurate left footed pass over the top left Jack Nevin with a simple finish to crown a remarkable afternoon.
P Carey 1-4 (0-2f, 0-1m), E Colleran 0-3 (0-1f, 0-1m), J Nevin 1-0, N Daly 0-1, D Kenny 0-1, C Harley 0-1.
D Canney 0-4 (0-2f), K Molloy 0-2, D Silke 0-1, J McCabe 0-1m, M Lundy 0-1, L Silke 0-1.
P Whelan; G Downey, N Carty, D Murray; D Kenny, C Keogh, C Harley; C Ryan, N Daly; C Daly, R Daly, A McGreal; E Colleran, P Carey, J Tumulty.
S Canning for McGreal (41), M Richardson for Downey (51), J Nevin for Tumulty (53), C Lohan for Harley (59), E Kelly for Colleran (60+2).
B Power; C Silke, D McHugh, L Silke; B Cogger, C Cunningham, K Molloy; P Egan, M Farragher; D Canny, T Gill, C Brady; D Silke, G Sice, J McCabe.
G Burke for C Silke (24), J Leonard for Gill (half-time), M Lundy for Cunningham (half-time), M Farragher for Sice (43), R Coen for D Silke (53)
John Gilmartin (Sligo).