St Michael's were no match for more accomplished Salthill-Knocknacarra

By CIAN O'CONNELL Salthill-Knocknacarra .0-13 St Michael's .0-5 NEVER any sign of a shock in this City derby as Salthill-Knocknacarra cruised to a win that was every bit as convincing as the scoreline suggests. St Michael's have lost several players and the momentum that accompanied them on their return to senior football in 2009, and Salthill-Knocknacarra had sufficient quality to prevail. It was not a classy Salthill-Knocknacarra performance, but at this stage of the County Championship all that truly matters is the result.[private] With Seán Armstrong becoming increasingly sharp and Seámie Crowe still a threat inside, there was a strong look to the Salthill team with Finian Hanley equally important at the other end of the field. In the closing stages St Michael's were comprehensively beaten and were unable to use their numerical superiority after the dismissal of Ruaidhri McTiernan in the 44th minute. McTiernan was sent off for picking up two bookings. Ultimately it didn't matter because Michael's were unable to test a defence superbly anchored by the very promising Gearóid Canavan. Salthill ruled the opening period, but they weren't able to reflect their dominance on the scoreboard. The interval advantage was 0-7 to 0-3, but it really should have been more as Salthill squandered a couple of decent goal-scoring opportunities. Seámie Crowe went close twice in the first eight minutes as St Michael's set themselves up to be spirited from the start. Salthill dealt with the underdogs' enthusiasm and three points on the spin midway through the half from Seámie Crowe (2) and John Boylan put them 0-4 to 0-2 ahead. Shane Maughan kicked a free for St Michael's but Salthill pulled away as Crowe, Seán Armstrong, and Brian Conlon rifled over splendid efforts. That gave them a four-point cushion, but the early misses meant St Michael's were still in the hunt. When Patrick McTigue banged over a point within seconds of the restart St Michael's should have came more into the reckoning but Peter Curran's charges only managed one more in the remaining 30 minutes. Salthill kicked six of their own with Armstrong and Crowe inevitably involved. A disappointing St Michael's will need to make significant strides if they are to make any impact in the qualifiers. Salthill-Knocknacarra: C Connolly; C Begley, F Hanley, K Conlon; C Halloran, G Canavan, R McTiernan; M Heskin, J Boylan (0-1); E O'Mahony, G Cox (0-1), A Kerins; B Conlon (0-2), S Crowe (0-5, 1f), S Armstrong (0-4, 3fs, 145). Subs., S Gavin, for Heskin, 31 mins; T. Burke for O'Mahony, 43 mins), G O'Leidhinn for B Conlon (58 mins), B Malone for K Conlon, 59 mins. St Michael's: B Sheridan; F Duggan, A Glynn, C Hoctor; K Clancy, J Downes, J Tierney; E Hoare, D Cunnane; P McTigue (0-1), S Maughan (0-3, two frees), C McClafferty; E O'Donnell, G Rogan (0-1), F Daly.  Sub., K O'Donoghue, for Tierney, 38 mins. Referee: P. J. Rabbitte. Man of the Match: Gearóid Canavan (Salthill-Knocknacarra).[/private]