Into the final, Tuam Stars are major players on the big stage again

By JIM CARNEY Tuam Stars - 1-8 Salthill-Knocknacarra - 0-9 FOR the second successive Sunday, Championship contenders Tuam Stars hit eight points against Salthill-Knocknacarra but this time they added a goal, in the first minute of the replay at Tuam Stadium, and it left the seasiders chasing the game all the way. But there was no catching the leaders. The deficit was cut to one point early in the second half, at 1-4 to 0-6, from Tuam's interval lead of 1-4 to 0-4, but that was as good as it got the losers. The Stars were in sparkling form from start to finish and were most deserving winners. Salthill-Knocknacarra could not manage any more than 1-5 a week earlier, so now they must accept that a combined tally of 1-14 over two hours-plus simply wasn't good enough to put them into contention for a place in next Sunday's County final against Corofin. Although the final was fixed, three weeks ago, for Pearse Stadium, Galway Football Board decided at an Executive meeting on Monday night that it will be played at Tuam Stadium, at 3.00 o'clock. It is a huge achievement for Tuam Stars to get back playing on the big stage. One-time aristocrats of the club game â€â€ Galway champions seven years in a row from 1954 to 1960 and vying with St Vincent's, Dublin for the accolade of best club team in Ireland in that era â€â€ the Stars also excelled in all other grades down through the years, from under-age to Junior. But, like what happened to their neighbours and traditionally their greatest rivals, Dunmore MacHales, Tuam found it difficult to stay at the top. In particular, the emergence of Annaghdown in the 1980s and Corofin in the next two decades shifted the North Galway spotlight up the N17. Dunmore last won the Frank Fox Cup in 1983, Tuam in 1994 (defeating Corofin), and Tuam were last in the final in 1995 (losing to Corofin). From considerable early promise in this Championship campaign, Salthill-Knocknacarra have since lost their way. Clinging to hope after Seán Armstrong kicked a late equalising point at Pearse Stadium last Sunday week, they would've been worried about Tuam Stars wasting four point-scoring opportunities to win that first meeting of the sides. Tuam were more battle-hardened too, for although they were made to wait a long time by the Mountbellew-Moylough objection to Micheál Breathnachs and all the controversy it caused, playing Mountbellew-Moylough twice (drawn game and replay) brought on the Tuam team a ton; they got momentum and were able to examine their selection options in the most testing arena, and even though they were agonisingly close to victory over Salthill-Knocknacarra first time out there was no disappointment. If anything, they could hardly wait for the replay and nobody in the camp thought they had lost their big opportunity. Early in the third quarter, the door was open to Salthill-Knocknacarra but one of their players started a row that only served to halt their progress, and indeed there was a lack of discipline in their team at several stages of the game. That was all the more surprising after they 'won' three close calls made by the referee in the second quarter, all three leading to points which kept Salthill-Knocknacarra alive at a time when only one of their players, Seán Armstrong, was able to win the ball consistently. This gifted footballer, who was sensational in the 2005 All-Ireland U-21 Championship, has been unlucky with hamstring trouble in most of the years since, and it's well known that he played as a sub last Sunday week and from the start on Sunday a long way short of a full recovery. It was a fantastic tribute to his personal courage and his commitment to his club that he played so well without being able to run, or take frees. He stood up to be counted and played his heart out. Unfortunately for him, he had little support of quality, for Salthill-Knocknacarra leaders in their glory run to the All-Ireland Club Championship title such as Maurice Sheridan, Michael Donnellan and Alan Kerins are no longer on the scene. Crucial for Tuam, in dealing with the Seán Armstrong threat, was the tight, disciplined man-to-man marking of Aonghus Tierney, an All-Ireland U-21 medal winner this year, physically very strong and also a determined type of defender, while in general the Tuam Stars defence played exceptionally well as a unit; they were hard-working, vigilant and there was a method to their approach. No doubt about it, this is a well-drilled, well-prepared team and it is hugely to manager Alan Flynn's credit that they are through to the County final and vastly improved this year in comparison to most of their recent Championship campaigns which, they surely have to concede, were well below par. But that doesn't matter now â€â€ this Tuam Stars team are in a very good place this week, and what's most wonderfully admirable is their team spirit and sense of togetherness, with unity of purpose and a burning desire to go all the way. What they have to do before taking on Corofin â€â€ and time is tight â€â€ is to figure out why their forwards didn't play as well as the other sectors last Sunday. It was hard to credit on the run of the game that for most of the final quarter Salthill-Knocknacarra were within one score (a goal, admittedly) of forcing this game to extra-time which would have come as a shock. And Tuam wouldn't have wanted it for another reason, even if they got through extra-time successfully, for this was their fourth successive Sunday in Championship action. To their credit, the seasiders put in plenty of effort in the second half but midfielder Stephen O'Reilly's second yellow card led automatically to a red and if it was difficult enough for Salthill-Knocknacarra to win with 15 men on the field they couldn't have thought it would be easier with 14. The dominant figure in the centre, all through, was the towering Brendan Devaney of Tuam but it would take a wiser man than me to understand why the opposition didn't switch Finian Hanley from full-back to midfield, which appeared to be an obvious move in their time of need. After all, he was considered the county team's No. 1 midfielder for a couple of months earlier this year. Impossible to understand, too, at the time why the Salthill-Knocknacarra goalkeeper was tempted into a high-risk strategy with his first kick-out, with less than one minute gone in the game: trying to find a man with a short kick. As we thought â€Â¦ but now I believe that, in fairness to Greg Rogers, the kick actually sliced off his boot and fell short. He was unlucky. Then he could only watch in horror as Tuam wing-forward Declan Byrne unpicked the lock of what was happening, controlled the ball very skilfully and drove it to the net with a brilliant drive. Great awareness, great composure and great finishing by the alert Tuam forward and in the final analysis it was the score that put his team into the County final. No man can be asked to do more than that. Tuam Stars: J. Trayers; D. O'Rourke, I. McGough, D. Connern; N. Henry (0-1), T. Costello, captain, A. Tierney; B. Devaney, J. Lawless (0-1); D. Byrne (1-1), J. Murphy (0-2), G. O'Donnell (0-1); S. Gaffney, C. Doherty (0-2), S. Curtin. Subs., E. Kilroy, for O'Rourke, 47 mins; D. Kelly, for Curtin, 54 mins; D. Marley, for Gaffney, 57 mins; D. Murray, for Byrne, 60 mins. Salthill-Knocknacarra: G. Rogers; C. Begley, F. Hanley, captain, D. O'Flaherty; P. Fahy, R. McTiernan, C. Halloran (0-2); S. O'Reilly, J. Boylan; S. Gavin, A. Callanan (0-2), T. Burke; G. Ó Leighinn, S. Crowe (0-4, all frees), S. Armstrong (0-1). Subs., G. Armstrong, for Ó Leighinn, half-time; G. Canavan, for Gavin, 46 mins. Referee: Muiris Mac Gearailt. Herald Sport Man of the Match: Tony Costello (Tuam Stars).