St James’s couldn’t hold Michael Meehan or a revitalised Caltra

By BILLY COSS Caltra .2-11 St. Jamesâ€â„¢s .2-9 A storming second half full of grit, commitment and clinical finishing helped Caltra to come from behind and record a relatively minor upset win over St Jamesâ€â„¢s in last Saturday afternoonâ€â„¢s opening S.F.C. tie at Tuam Stadium. Recent seasons have been extremely testing for the 2004 All-Ireland Club champions with Michael Meehanâ€â„¢s injuries undermining their Championship challenge but Caltra look rejuvenated under new manager Cyril Ryan and this win could provide the impetus for their best showing since they reached the semi-finals in â€Ëœ09. In the gameâ€â„¢s key match-up, Jonny Duane picked up his county colleague Meehan, who moved between the centre half-forward and full-forward positions, and it was a battle decisively won by Caltraâ€â„¢s â€Ëœmarqueeâ€â„¢ forward. His contribution included a final tally of 1-5 (1-3 from play), a couple of assists and a vital turnover that ended with Caltraâ€â„¢s opening goal finished by his brother Declan. Not even a missed penalty, blazed over the St Jamesâ€â„¢s crossbar early in the second half, could take away from a hugely influential display by the winnersâ€â„¢ go-to man.[private] From the St Jamesâ€â„¢ perspective, most inquests will focus on how they lost their way from such a position of strength in the second half. They were widely expected to repeat last yearâ€â„¢s Championship win over Caltra but must now pick up the pieces ahead of a tough qualifier assignment against one of the weekendâ€â„¢s unluckiest sides, Caherlistrane. Already forced to plan without injured â€Ëœkeeper John Egan, their chances were dealt a further blow mid-week when Eoin Concannon was ruled out with a broken toe. Both absences impacted on them but only partially explain the St Jamesâ€â„¢s performance in a match that Caltra showed the far greater desire to come out on top. All was going according to plan for Frank Dohertyâ€â„¢s men after goals either side of the break by Owen Teagle and a brilliant solo effort from David Oâ€â„¢Connell. Paul Conroy was pulling the strings; they had the wind at their backs playing into the town goal, and with a four-point lead they were the firmest of favourites. It all fell apart in the closing 20 minutes. Conroy became less influential in the St Jamesâ€â„¢s attack, midfield possession dried up and the majority of 50-50s were being won by a Caltra team that never let up once they got on top. From 1-4 to 0-5 up following Declan Meehanâ€â„¢s 25th minute goal, Caltra found themselves trailing 2-8 to 1-7 with little over 20 minutes remaining. Michael Meehan had blazed his penalty over by that point also and St Jamesâ€â„¢s appeared in pole position until a run of superb points from play by Meehan (two) and Cathal Mannion cut the margin to one. Caltra displayed a ruthless streak in front of the posts with very little wastage in the second half and Meehan landed the crucial blow in the 45th minute, showing neat footwork to evade Jonny Duane and unleash a powerful shot past St Jamesâ€â„¢s â€Ëœkeeper David Curran. It was far from a one-man show as a tenacious Caltra defensive unit battened down the hatches, while Brian Laffey and Benny Kilroy took over the midfield battle and Michael Kelly was the pick of the supporting cast in a lively, cohesive attack. St Jamesâ€â„¢s needed a stem the tide but a pointed free from Conroy - their only score in the final 23 minutes â€â€ was all they could muster. And with all hands to the pump in defence, Caltra deservedly held out as the city side searched in vain for a match-winning goal late on. Caltra: K. Kilroy; C. Ó Ceallaigh, P. Gately, S. Nolan; Brian Kilroy, O. Kelly, L. Tully; Benny Kilroy, B. Laffey (0-1); C. Mannion (0-1), M. Meehan (1-5, one free, one penalty), T. Nolan; D. Meehan (1-1), M. Kelly (0-2), N. Keighrey. Subs: M. Killilea (0-1), for Keighrey, 36 mins; S. Geraghty, for O. Kelly, 44 mins; R. Kelly, for T. Nolan, 60 mins. St. Jamesâ€â„¢s: D. Curran; O. Oâ€â„¢Malley, M. Kelly, A. Deacy; T. Walsh (0-1), J. Duane, S. Coughlan; A. Connolly, P. Conroy (0-6, five frees); S. Donnellan (0-1), D. Oâ€â„¢Connell (1-0), R. Oâ€â„¢Connell (0-1); S. Glynn, O. Teagle (1-0), E. Oâ€â„¢Regan. Subs: A. Oâ€â„¢Donnell, for Teagle inj., 34 mins; E. Lee, for Oâ€â„¢Regan, 48 mins; S. Boyle for Glynn inj., 60 mins. Referee: Gerry Daly. Herald Sport Man of the Match: Michael Meehan (Caltra). [/private]