The biggest defeat I can remember suffering in senior club football was in 1990 when Salthill-Knocknacarra hammered Corofin in the county final by 14 points.
It was a really bad day at the office for Corofin and everyone in the losing dressing-room felt humiliated and gutted by the nature of that defeat.
To lose after giving of your best is one thing; to be routed and not show up at all, is another.
From that perspective it is difficult to imagine how the Milltown players and management team felt last Sunday afternoon after taking an awful trouncing against a rampant Corofin side which won by 24 points, on a score-line of 4-14 to 0-2.
The last few minutes of the contest were surreal. Both sets of players ambled around the field just waiting for Tomás Ó Fátharta to bring an end to a most ridiculously lopsided contest.
Milltown had set up very defensively in the first half, but when they found themselves five points down, 0-6 to 0-1 at half time, they had to try to play a more orthodox game in the second half.
Corofin really opened them up then with some sublime interplay from team captain Michael Farragher, Micheal Lundy, Gary Sice, Ciaran McGrath, Martin Farragher, Ian Burke and the very impressive Ronan Steede, whose high fielding must have caught the eye of new Galway manager Kevin Walsh. Former county star Kieran Fitzgerald was solid at full-back too. The one negative for Corofin was a nasty looking injury to the lively Justin Burke.
Milltown's total collapse commenced when Liam Silke got on the end of a slick move to score Corofin’s first goal. That goal was followed by three more as Milltown were overwhelmed all over the field.
Their cause was made even worse when two deserved red cards were dished out to Milltown defenders for off-the-ball incidents.
The manner of Corofin’s victory will do little as a preparation for the county final – fixed for October 19 – and it is not a good sign either for the overall standard of club football in the county.
Milltown beat Menlough, St James and Salthill to get to the county semi-final and they have been a relatively competitive side at senior level for the past few years.
What will a 24 point defeat do to their morale for 2015?
It is not good for club football in Galway that one club side has been so dominant in the county over the past decade.
Stephen Rochford's side are now1/6 to annex another county title and who would bet against them doing so?
