Claregalway 3-15
Bearna Na Forbacha 2-7
By David Connors
At Pearse Stadium
AFTER labouring through a lacklustre opening half, Claregalway found another gear after the break to run out convincing 11-point winners over Bearna Na Forbacha in last weekend’s opening Galway Senior Football Championship preliminary quarter-final.
Wind-assisted, Austin Sammon and Alan Daly’s side outscored their opponents 3-11 to just three points after the change of ends, when shooting into the Áras Bóthar na Trá end. In doing so, they ultimately justified their billing as heavy pre-match favourites on a weekend that certainly didn’t go along expected lines in the Frank Fox Cup race.
Despite plenty of endeavour and pillaging two first half goals during a more than commendable opening 30-plus minutes, Bearna Na Forbacha simply could not live with their opponents after the restart, with scoring opportunities becoming increasingly scarce for the West Board club.
In total, they managed just seven second half attempts, converting three. Almost 20 minutes separated their second and final points, the latter arriving in the fourth minute of added time. It was the sort of scoring drought that was never likely to cut it in senior knockout football.
Claregalway overturned a six-point deficit, having trailed 2-4 to 0-4, with goals from super-sub Jack Mullen, midfielder Dave Tarmey and the outstanding Dara Whelan in the final minute of normal time helping transform the complexion of the contest entirely.
Bearna Na Forbacha had arrived at the knockout stages following something of a mixed group campaign. A priceless opening round victory over Caltra gave them the perfect start, but a heavy defeat to Salthill-Knocknacarra followed before Milltown comfortably accounted for them in the final round.
Most concerning was their attacking return, with tallies of just 0-14, 0-14 and 0-9 across their three outings – worrying tallies in this present era of Gaelic football. Their combined return of 0-37 across the three group games was the lowest of all 16 teams in the senior championship in the groups, with their scoring output dropping to just nine points against Milltown in the final round.
In contrast, Claregalway’s route to the knockout stages had been considerably more encouraging. After conceding 2-19 in a defeat to Corofin – where they had made a fine start to that tie - the Balchies responded with successive victories over Killannin and Mountbellew-Moylough, scoring 3-15 and 3-14 respectively.
Interestingly, they finished the group phase with identical totals of 59 points scored and conceded, but their trajectory was clearly upwards entering the knockout stage.
Despite not hitting the back of the net during the group stages, Bearna Na Forbacha struck two goals in the opening half. Páraic Commins had pointed two minutes into the contest with a free before Seán Fitzgerald found Donnacha Naughton and he rounded Eamon McGrath before emphatically rattling the net.
With Aaron Kavanagh influential around the middle, Bearna Na Forbacha reeled off the next three scores to move 1-4 to 0-1 clear by the 16th minute. Tom Curran converted a marvellous two-point free and added another one-point free before James Fallon raised a white flag after being picked out by Padraig Dillon.
Seán Dunne also fizzed a goal effort narrowly wide during that spell and, on 19 minutes, McGrath had to be alert to deny both Naughton and Curran from close range during a frantic goalmouth scramble.
Scores became increasingly scarce in the second quarter, but a Jack Lonergan effort — which admittedly looked wide — was awarded after ricocheting off the crossbar before a McGrath 45 reduced Claregalway’s arrears to four and helped stem the tide.
However, Bearna Na Forbacha struck again in first half injury-time. A flowing move from Ger Butler’s men ended with Dunne waiting at the back post to palm to the net and establish a six-point cushion. The excellent Owen Morgan did land the final score of the half for Claregalway, but Bearna Na Forbacha still carried a healthy 2-4 to 0-4 advantage into the dressing room.
After the resumption, though — helped by the introduction of chief marksman Jack Mullen from the bench — it became essentially one-way traffic. Dara Whelan and Jack Glynn helped shut down the opposition, while playmaker Jack Lonergan began pulling the strings with greater influence.
As in the first half, Páraic Commins opened the scoring. Before Darragh Costello responded for Bearna Na Forbacha. The momentum swung decisively, however, when Mullen struck Claregalway’s opening goal in the 38th minute.
Another Eamon McGrath 45 was answered by Costello’s second point of the half, but from there Claregalway took complete control.
They reeled off an unanswered 2-8, with Tarmey and Whelan raising green flags in the 48th and 60th minutes respectively, to turn what had been a competitive contest into a comprehensive victory.
The victory puts Claregalway back in the quarter-finals for the first time since their 2023 defeat to Milltown. This time, neighbours and Group 4 table-toppers Annaghdown await in what should be viewed as a genuine opportunity to push even deeper into the championship.
For Bearna Na Forbacha, preserving their senior status would surely have been the primary objective after surviving relegation last year with a victory over St. Michael’s in the final. Avoiding that dogfight altogether and reaching the preliminary quarter-finals therefore represents tangible progress for the club.
CLAREGALWAY: E. McGrath (0-3, 0-3 45s); D. Whelan (1-0), J. Glynn, D. Hughes; L. O’Connor, M. Morrin, R. Flaherty; D. Tarmey (1-0), B. Connolly; J. Reilly, J. Lonergan (0-3, one 0-2 score), P. Commins (0-2, 0-1 free); C. Flaherty, G. O’Riordan, O. Morgan (0-3). Subs: D. Fitzmaurice, for Reilly (temporary), 30 mins-half-time; J. Mullen (1-2, 0-1 free), for O’Riordan, half-time; M. King, for Morrin, half-time; S. Moran (0-2), for Flaherty, 43 mins; D. Fitzmaurice, for Commins, 48 mins; J.P. McLoughlin, for Reilly, 59 mins.
BEARNA NA FORBACHA: J. Keane; C. Friel, J. Kennedy, N. McComiskey; D. Cox, S. Fitzgerald, J. Fallon (0-1); C. Malone, A. Kavanagh; D. Naughton (1-0), S. Dunne (1-0), D. Costello (0-2); P. Dillon, T. Curran (0-4, one 0-2 free), J. Walsh. Subs: C. Kelly, for Dillon, 49 mins; D. McComiskey, for 52 mins; P. Lenihan, for Walsh, 59 mins.
REFEREE: Paddy Ó Griofa.
HERALD SPORT MAN OF THE MATCH:
Dara Whelan (Claregalway).