GAA Sundays in October. How could you beat them?
Slaughtneil club men will have a rare winter off after their hurlers were beaten in the Ulster semi-final on Sunday and, with their footballers already put out of the Derry championship, it will be a strange provincial and All-Ireland series without the Emmets, in either code.
All-Ireland football champions Corofin so nearly joined them as they trailed deep into injury time at Salthill.
Corofin native Michael Donnellan had plotted their downfall from the opposition dugout as four Barry McHugh points had Mountbellew-Moylough dreaming of a first senior championship since 1986.
Three times in the last 32 years have Mountbellew-Moylough made it back to the decider and all three times they ran up against Corofin and lost.
In 2009, they were beaten after a replay.
In 2015, they were beaten by 10 points.
In 2017, last season, they were beaten by 10 points.
On Sunday, they were seconds from shocking the country and dumping out the best side in Ireland until Micheal Lundy ghosted through and fisted over the bar to tie the game at seven points apiece.
Before that encounter, Corofin were priced at 1/7 by the bookmakers to win a sixth Galway title in succession and what would’ve been a ninth in 11 seasons but Mountbellew-Moylough’s display of heart, discipline, nerve and tactical nouse had the 5/1 outsiders just inches from the finishing line.
It was all go in Galway as the intermediate final – the replayed final – was forced to extra time by goalkeeper Magnus Breathnach who scaled the length of the pitch, won a free and kicked the equaliser himself before An Spideal went on and won in extra time.
Galway ‘keeper saves penalty, runs upfield, shoulders man to ground, kicks equaliser
Elsewhere, Ballyhale reclaimed the Kilkenny title with Henry Shefflin picking up his first championship medal as a manager and TJ Reid running riot.
Five as a player, his first county championship as a manager.
Henry Shefflin, a Ballyhale legend, a Kilkenny legend, a hurling legend 👏 pic.twitter.com/cfY2vqgiKV
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) October 28, 2018
FOOTBALL
Kerry SFC final
Dr Crokes 1-15 Dingle 0-12
Galway SFC final
Corofin 0-7 Mountbellew-Moylough 0-7
Cork SFC final
St Finbarrs 3-14 Duhallow 2-14
Tipperary SFC final
Moyle Rovers 1-15 Ardfinnan 1-7
Clare SFC final
Miltown-Malbay 0-14 Ennistymon 0-8
Waterford SFC final
The Nire 0-9 Kilrossanty 0-7
London SFC final replay
Tir Chonaill Gaels 0-15 Fulham Irish 0-13
Leinster club SFC first round
Dunboyne (Meath) 1-12 Shelmaliers (Wexford) 1-2
Moorefield (Kildare) 2-9 Mullingar Shamrocks (Westmeath) 1-6
Rhode (Offaly) 2-16 St Patricks (Wicklow) 1-9
HURLING
Kilkenny SHC final
Ballyhale Shamrocks 2-20 Bennettsbridge 2-17
Dublin SHC final replay
Ballyboden St Endas 2-15 Kilmacud Crokes 1-15
Antrim SHC final
Cushendall 2-12 Loughgiel 0-15, Ballycastle – FT
Munster club SHC quarter-final
Ballygunner (Waterford) 1-18 Midleton (Cork) 2-13
Ulster club SHC semi-final
Ballycran (Down) 4-15 Slaughtneil (Derry) 1-14
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