Salthill left in a Hoop after controversial winner
A controversial winner by Luke Kelly booked Castlebar Celtic's place in the Connacht Cup final for the second year in a row. Picture: Castlebar Celtic FC
There were scenes of unbridled joy at the final whistle as Castlebar Celtic marked their Centenary year with a return to the Connacht Cup final after a hard fought victory over Salthill Devon at home on Sunday afternoon last.
Played in ideal conditions in front of a large crowd befitting the occasion, the home side showed spirit and tenacity to come away with the victory after Luke Kelly’s excellent first half finish.
Played out to a much higher quality than the corresponding GAA fixture played by the seaside in Galway, Celtic just about deserved to come away with the victory even if their goal came with a serious stroke of luck for the home side.
Salthill should have had the lead after just three minutes when Timmy Molloy was put through on goal but his shot from ten yards crashed back off the crossbar and Niall Rooney somehow fired the rebound across the goal and wide of an empty net.
On the quarter hour mark Salthill had another great chance to take the lead when a Michael Gallagher free fell to Vinny Faherty in the penalty area but the former Galway United striker sent the ball over the bar under pressure from Stefan Hester.
Salthill were dominating all facets of the game, with Celtic barely able to settle in possession, as the Galway side looked to get the early goal and take control of the contest.
Neither side created any clear cut chances until the hosts took the lead in the 37th minute when a long ball out of defence was flicked on by Jordan Loftus for winger Luke Kelly to run on to. The linesman’s flag stayed down but the Salthill players all stopped playing in expectation of a whistle.
Kelly, however, continued on and slotted the ball past Arek Mamala to spark wild celebrations mong the Celtic faithful.
The Devon players and management were apoplectic that the goal was allowed to stand and subsequent video evidence would prove they were justified in their protests.
It took until the second half for Salthill to settle following the concession but in the 54th minute they were almost caught out on the counter attack as Dylan Edwards attempted to put Loftus in on goal but for a last ditch interception from Calyn Crowe.
With the crowd becoming more vocal and Celtic growing into the game Salthill began to throw everything at an equaliser, leaving themselves wide open at the back.
Gallagher had a 30 yard free tipped over the bar by Hester on 60 minutes and a minute later Celtic should have put the tie to bed when Loftus picked out Jason Hunt with a cross field pass and the winger cut inside to shoot. His shot was saved by Mamala and Dylan Edwards saw his rebound effort somehow cleared off the line by Cillian Doyle.
Celtic had a huge shout for a penalty on 78 minutes when former Manulla player Jackson Da Silva took Eoghan Hughes out with the ball nowhere near the big centre back but Damien McGrath was having none of the Celtic appeals.
As the game ticked into injury-time it looked like Celtic’s rearguard, marshalled superbly by Ioseph O’Reilly and Cathal Coyne, would not be breached but one last chance fell for Aidan O’Halloran on the edge of the six yard box.
The outstanding Mark Cunningham somehow threw himself in front of the substitute’s goalbound shot to clear and with it end any hopes of a Salthill equalizer as the final whistle went sparking great scenes around the ground.
Following the final whistle, Celtic manager Stevie Gavin couldn’t hide his delight for his side. “We’ve been working very hard, and following the disappointment of the last two years in this competition, and the consistency we’ve shown has been really strong. It’s hard to get to the latter stages of this competition and to get to the final again is brilliant.
“The lads are disappointed there was only the one goal in it and they didn’t show more of a killer edge for some of the chances we had in the second-half but one against Salthill was enough today.” On the goal, Gavin said his side played to the whistle: “We’ve been on the receiving end of some bad luck and it was a goal and that’s it. We play to the whistle all day.”
