Galway SFC: Corofin retain title
Galway SFC Final
Corofin 2-9 Maigh Cuilinn 0-9
By Billy Coss at Tuam Stadium
Goals in either half from Jack McCabe and Gary Sice secured Corofin their 23rd Galway Senior Football Championship title against Maigh Cuilinn this afternoon.
Played in persistent rain, the final was level three times in the opening 22 minutes before the title holders made their decisive move with an answered burst of 1-3 without reply.
McCabe sidefooted their opening goal into an empty net after an unfortunate error from Maigh Cuilinn ‘keeper Andrew Power. It was the cornerstone of Corofin’s 1-6 to 0-4 half-time lead after playing with the benefit of the elements.
Two Darragh Silke points solidified their position straight after the goal, while McCabe and frees from Sice (two) and Dylan Canney (one) accounted for the rest of their total before the break.
Maigh Cuilinn had lost just two of their previous 32 championship matches inside the county boundaries since the start of 2020. However, Cathal Clancy’s side were always playing catch-up thereafter. Their first period tally came courtesy of three Dessie Conneely placed balls and a punched Peter Cooke effort.
Corofin were never in danger in the second half and two Colin Brady points at the end of surging runs were among the scores of the day as the gap widened to 1-9 to 0-5 on 46 minutes.
Though Maigh Cuilinn pulled a couple of points back from Conneely’s fifth free and the first of Owen Gallagher’s two points from play, the seal on Corofin’s victory came when Sice, picking up his 14th Galway senior medal, drilled home their second goal in the 58th minute.
Gallagher and Cooke scores came from late Maigh Cuilinn pressure, but it was Corofin’s day as they crowned their 20th success since 1991 and moved to within one of Tuam Stars at the top of the Galway roll of honour.
Scorers for Corofin: Gary Sice 1-2 (2fs), Jack McCabe 1-1; Dylan Canney (2f), Darragh Silke and Colin Brady 0-2 each.
Scorers for Maigh Cuilinn: Dessie Conneely 0-5 (5fs), Owen Gallagher and Peter Cooke (1f) 0-2 each.
Corofin: Bernard Power; Liam Silke, Dylan McHugh (captain), Cathal Silke; Conor Cunningham, Brian Cogger, Kieran Molloy; Ciarán Brady, Mike Farragher; Patrick Egan, Micheál Lundy, Dylan Canney; Gary Sice, Darragh Silke, Jack McCabe.
Subs: Colin Brady for Lundy (29), Jason Leonard for Canney (48), Tony Gill for Ciarán Brady (58), Gavin Burke for Cogger (60+1).
Maigh Cuilinn: Andrew Power; Conor Corcoran, Seán Kelly, Michael Moughan; Eoghan Kelly, David Wynne (captain), Johnny Moloney; Tom Clarke, Ger Davoren; Neil Mulcahy, Paul Kelly, Peter Cooke; Dessie Conneely, Fionn McDonagh, Owen Gallagher.
Subs: Micheál O’Reilly for Davoren (39), Niall Walsh for McDonagh (39), James McLaughlin for Clarke (43), Aidan Claffey for Eoghan Kelly (46), Seán O’Connor for Mulcahy (58).
REFEREE: Austin O’Connell.
