An Cheathrú Rua abú

By NOEL CARNEY
An Cheathrú Rua .0-12
Barna .0-11
AFTER a one-sided opening to the first leg of the Saturday evening double-header in Salthill, with St James’s far too good for Killanin, the second match produced a much more exciting contest as the issue was in doubt right to the end with each team having periods of dominance until Ciarán de Paor separated them with the winning point from a free for An Cheathrú Rua in a dramatic finish.
Neutrals would suggest that a draw would have been a fair result and while it is hard to argue with those sentiments An Cheathrú Rua deserve credit for keeping going at full tilt to the final whistle. But unlucky Barna, who played their hearts out from start to finish, deserve sympathy after losing in such heart-breaking fashion.
Barna got a dream start and were 0-3 to 0-0 ahead with little more than ten minutes gone. Corner-back Shaun Durkan sent them on their way with an early point; Ray Conneely made it 2-0 and they got an unlikely third when a monster of a kick by midfielder Donal Feeney landed in the goalmouth, hopped on the hard ground and bounced over the bar.

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