Routine win for Corofin in dead rubber with Killannin

2023 and '24 champions reach last eight of Galway SFC with three straight wins

Corofin 3-20

Killannin 1-5

By Stephen Glennon

At Pearse Stadium

COROFIN maintained their perfect start to the Galway Senior Football Championship with an emphatic victory over Killannin in their Group 1 clash at Pearse Stadium last Saturday evening.

Ross Coen found the net after 16 minutes while Kieran Molloy landed a brace of two-pointers – and Killian Joyce added another from a free – as Corofin took a commanding 1-13 to 0-2 lead into the interval.

There was little respite for Killannin after the restart, with Darragh Silke adding Corofin’s second goal on 38 minutes before Liam Silke struck again in injury-time to put the seal on a comprehensive triumph.

Cian Folan raised Killannin’s only green flag with two minutes remaining, but it was little more than consolation on a difficult evening for a side destined for the relegation play-offs.

To say that Killannin offered nothing in this contest is an understatement. Little or no spirit was showed collectively, and it was as if they were resigned to their fate once Corofin got an early run on them.

Killannin only scored once in the first half – that a Dara Walsh two-pointer from a 15th minute free – although Johnny Heaney was unlucky to see his penalty, following a foul on Cian Folan, come back off the crossbar on 24 minutes.

By this stage, Corofin were already well on their way to a 1-13 to 0-2 interval lead and that could – and should have been more – had a Darragh Silke effort at an unmanned goal from distance unluckily hit the woodwork.

As it was, Colin Brady, Jason Leonard (free and play), Darragh Silke (two), Killian Joyce and Ross Coen tallied points to establish a 0-7 to 0-0 advantage by the time Walsh registered Killannin’s first score on 18 minutes.

That was the first two-pointer of the contest and, as if taking offence to this, within 30 seconds Ross Coen broke through at the other end to strike for Corofin’s first goal before Kieran Molloy (two) and Killian Joyce (free) kicked a string of two-pointers to close out the half.

An indication of Corofin’s dominance was that they won 70 percent of Killannin’s kickouts in that period and any restarts that the West Galway side did manage to retain, they were usually overturned before they could exit their own half. It was relentless.

After the interval, Killannin did enjoy more possession, but this did not translate on to the scoreboard as the victors outscored them 2-7 to 1-3. And again, it could have been worse had a 43rd minute Martin Farragher goal not been disallowed for a square ball.

Yet, it mattered not. Within 90 seconds of the restart Darragh Silke had tallied a point, before Micheál Lundy kicked another 30 seconds later. Darragh Silke then worked a good one-two with Molloy to net Corofin’s second goal on 38 minutes; Gary Delaney’s side were now 2-15 to 0-2 to the good.

Killannin did stop the rot momentarily with points from Dara Walsh (free) and Johnny Heaney (45), but Corofin, despite Farragher’s disallowed goal, upped the ante again in the final quarter as Coen (three), Molloy and Darragh Silke gave an exhibition of point-taking.

While Ryan Roche, with a point, and Cian Folan, with a deserved goal off a long kick pass from Heaney, accounted for Killannin’s only two scores in the final quarter, Corofin pretty much finished as they started as Farragher and Lundy combined to set up Liam Silke for a screamer of a goal in the second minute of injury-time.

Given the margin at the end – 21 points – there is not a lot more that can be said on what was a routine Corofin victory. They were on it from the start and their willingness and industry to contest almost every play around the pitch was insatiable. Rarely was a Killannin man afforded the space to collect possession without a Corofin player breathing down his neck.

Certainly, Killannin will need to show a lot more fight in the relegation play-offs, where they will face Naomh Anna Leitir Móir in the semi-finals. For Corofin, they by-pass the preliminary quarter-finals and advance to the last eight of the competition.

COROFIN: D. Canney; V. Gill, L. Silke (1-0), B. Coen; C. Brady (0-1), C. Cunningham, K. Molloy (0-5, two 0-2 scores); S. Canavan, P. Egan; R. Coen (1-4), D. Silke (1-4), J. Leonard (0-2, 0-1 free); M. Lundy (0-1), K. Joyce (0-3, one 0-2 score), D. Wall. Sub: Martin Farragher, for Egan, half-time.

KILLANNIN: J. Walsh; M. Maloney, D. Henderson, R. Joyce; C. Marks, J. Heaney (0-1, 45), B. Mitchell; Dara Walsh (0-3, 0-1 free), R. Roche (0-1); R. Melia, L. Carr, J. O’Toole; G. Bohan, C. Folan (1-0), P. Bohan. Subs: D. O’Connor, for J. Walsh, half-time; E. Kinnevey, for Mitchell, 35 mins; Darren Walsh, for R. Melia, 37 mins; K. O’Connor, for Carr, 37 mins; M. Geoghegan, for P. Bohan, 50 mins.

REFEREE: Colm Conway.

HERALD SPORT MAN OF THE MATCH: Kieran Molloy (Corofin).