Salthill-Knocknacarra Quell Corofin Comeback while Cooke Serves Defeat to Tuam 

By Fionn Murray

Pearse Stadium played host to a pulsating double header on Saturday night, with both Galway Senior Football Championship semi-finals coming right down to the wire. 

Two-time defending champions Corofin, winners of nine of the last twelve Galway senior titles, were defeated 1-17 to 1-15 by Salthill-Knocknacarra in game that was a tale of two halves. 

Salthill enjoyed an incredible start to the game, leading by thirteen points at the break, punctuated by a Robert Finnerty goal ten minutes in. 

Salthill and Galway intercounty star John Maher was stretchered off the field early with a concerning injury, but his team continued their first-half onslaught in his absence. 

Corofin were held to just a single point from open play in the first half, going scoreless for a twenty-five-minute stretch. 

The tables turned after the break, and the reigning champions steadily chipped away at the deficit, led by Jack McCabe’s seven points and a goal from Darragh Silke.  

The momentum shift was palpable, and the difference was whittled away to just one point by Corofin’s Ciaran Brady in the 56^th minute.  

A timely score by Evan Nolan, however, coupled with Salthill keeper Donal O’Sullivan’s clutch last-minute save, ensured Salthill-Knocknacarra the victory and a place in the decider.  

Earlier in the evening, Maigh Cuilin came from behind to earn their spot in a fourth-straight Galway SFC final, beating Tuam Stars by 0-18 to 1-14.  

Maigh Cuilin started strong, but a defensive mishap gifted a goal to Cian Mitchell, and Tuam went into the break three ahead.  

The second half saw Maigh Cuilin bring on Peter Cooke for his first club game of the season, and despite an initial unforced turnover, he turned out to be the difference in the contest. 

Cooke, whose work Stateside prevents him from making consistent appearances, levelled the affair 54 minutes in with a thunderous two-pointer, adding another point moments later as Tuam moved men up the field in an attempt to stem the tide. 

Jack Grugan twice had his efforts deflected off the Maigh Cuilin woodwork in the closing minutes, and Shay McGlinchey’s two-pointer at the death ultimately came too late for a Tuam side who were defeated by the skin of their teeth. 

Salthill-Knocknacarra will now face Maigh Cuilin on October 25 for the Frank Fox Cup.  

It will be a rematch of the 2022 final, which Maigh Cuilin won by a single point.