St Paul’s Oughterard 1-15
St Louis Kiltimagh 0-8
St Paul’s, Oughterard gave a smashing display to ruthlessly overpower St Louis, Kiltimagh in Ballinrobe on Sunday to claim the Connacht Colleges B title.
Though entering the contest as underdogs, Paul’s quickly assumed control. They took an early lead which they never relinquished as St Louis could not contain the rampant Galway outfit.
Showing the requisite passion, Paul’s were doughty and did not allow the highly regarded Louis outfit play which was commendable. Patrick Sweeney spearheaded Paul’s blistering start with the centre forward kicking fine points on the spin as the Oughterard side sauntered clear.
Sweeney’s incisive running and ability to drill deliveries deep into Louis territory caused significant problems as Paul’s dictated the contest. Shane Molloy then banged home an opportunistic goal after 16 minutes, and when that was briskly followed by points from Aaron Coady and Cathal Sweeney, all that needed to be determined was the margin of victory.
Louis, under pressure throughout the field, eventually registered a score in the 25th minute courtesy of Ciaran Charlton, but it was only a brief interruption of Oughterard’s dominance as normal service was soon restored. Inevitably a brace of Patrick Sweeney frees edged Oughterard further in front before Charlton responded, leaving Paul’s 1-9 to 0-2 ahead at the turnaround.
Louis craved a third quarter revival, but Paul’s sealed the deal. Edwin Murray ventured forward from wing back to kick a string of frees between the sticks, while Cathal Sweeney and the hard-working Niall Walsh also contributed.
Entering the last 15 minutes Paul’s had accumulated a staggering 13-point advantage and although Charlton’s free-taking brought Louis a tad closer, they never seriously troubled an Oughterard outfit that was both solid and stylish when it mattered also.
St Paul’s, Oughterard: P Feeney; D Wallace, S Upton, C Carey; J Shaughnessy, L Moran, E Murray (0-3, 3fs ); D Carter, D Walsh; J Waller, P Sweeney (0-7, 4fs ), A Coady (0-1 ); S Molloy (1-0 ), N Walsh (0-1 ), C Sweeney (0-3, 1f ). Subs: P Walsh for Waller (38 ), P Gibbons for Coady (59 ).
