Holders Munster crashed out of the Railway Cup - with a squelch rather than a thud - on a heavy pitch at McHale Park, Castlebar yesterday. With winds gusting sufficiently strongly to threaten the occupants of the press box with relocation to Belmullet, Connacht were so superior as to drive away nearly the entire attendance of about 400 well before the final whistle.
Whereas Munster manager Paidi O Se found the whole experience disappointing, his reaction must have been nothing compared to the angst of Cork and Munster selector Paddy Sheahan, who watched a succession of his county players taken off with a variety of problems, ranging from physical ailments to heavy hearts.
Full back Sean O hAilpin suffered the most serious injury, hurting his shoulder and having to go to hospital at half-time for a clear diagnosis.
Michael O'Donovan also injured a shoulder, and Ciaran O'Sullivan strained his thigh.
Most of the Cork players were just back from their winter holiday and seemed to pine for rather than show the benefits of the sun. Munster fielded only four of the team which beat Connacht in last year's final and the squad had had no opportunity to train in the lead-up to the match.
The ferocious wind was in Munster's favour for the first half, but they failed to take advantage. Only early substitute Noel Kennelly attempted to use the elements to deliver quick ball into the attack but his prodigious kicks too often flew far beyond the full-forward line.
Connacht's defence was authoritative and limited the chances available to the potentially menacing Munster attack. Kenneth Mortimer tracked Declan Browne well and Denis Gavin played effectively on Philip Clifford.
Behind them Peter Burke was composed in the goal and totally reliable under the many balls which dropped short; in front of him John Divilly pivoted the defence aggressively and frequently got forward to good effect.
At the other end, the Connacht forwards were a lot sharper but found the curtain of wind around the Munster goal hard to penetrate. Galway's Padraig Joyce is in super form at the moment and bent over two lovely points in the first half. In the conditions, it was a good haul and points from Derek Duggan and Dessie Sloyane doubled it.
Munster's failure to exploit the elements left them a point behind at the interval with the gale to face in the second half.
Four minutes after the break, Connacht struck for their first goal when Eamonn O'Hara fisted home a lineball sent in by Joyce but the team failed to build on what looked like a breakthrough score. Seven minutes later, Liam Hassett's quick free caught the Connacht defence napping, Clifford found himself one-on-one with Burke and took the goal neatly.
Had Munster dug in at this stage, they might have made a match of it. Instead they conceded a second goal two minutes later. Sloyane caught an attempt at a point by Ja Fallon and managed to twist around and create enough space to slot the ball into the far corner of the net.
This killed off the holders. Despite the best efforts of Limerick's John Quane, the central sector belonged to Connacht with Duggan coming into the game powerfully in the second half and bringing his total to four points with some huge kicks on target.
Mayo's Kevin O'Neill provided a lively presence when introduced and he ended up with two points. Munster were unable to add to Cliford's score for the duration of the half.
Connacht manager Seamus Hayden redefined caution by saying he hadn't relaxed until five minutes before the end. His team now proceed to their third Railway Cup final in four years.
Next Sunday in Sligo, Ulster stand in the way of the western province's first title in 31 years.
Connacht: P Burke (Mayo); K Mortimer (Mayo), S Quinn (Leitrim), D Gavin (Roscommon); D Heaney (Mayo), J Divilly (Galway), M Ryan (Roscommon); S O Domhnaill (Galway), P Fallon (Mayo); J Fallon (Galway), D Duggan (Roscommon) 0-4, one free, one 45; E O'Hara (Sligo) 1-0, D Sloyane (Sligo) 1-1, P Joyce (Galway) 0-3, one free), N Finnegan (Galway). Subs: K O'Neill (Mayo) 0-2, one free, for Finnegan (53 mins); F O'Donnell (Roscommon) for P Fallon (57 mins); A Cullen (Leitrim) for Sloyane (66 mins).
Munster: D O'Keeffe (Kerry); M McCarthy (Kerry), S O hAilpin (Cork), A Lynch (Cork); C O'Sullivan (Cork), O Sexton (Cork), D Reidy (Limerick); M O'Sullivan (Cork) 0-1, J Quane (Limerick); G Keane (Clare), L Hassett (Kerry) 0-1, P O'Mahony (Cork); P Clifford (Cork) 1-0, J Crowley (Kerry), D Browne (Tipperary). Subs: N Kennelly (Kerry) 0-1, for O'Mahony (22 mins); M O'Donovan (Cork) for O hAilpin (half-time); N Murphy (Cork) for M O'Sullivan (44 mins); D Daly for C O'Sullivan (50 mins); C O'Dwyer (Tipperary) for O'Donovan (58 mins).
Referee: M Convery (Derry).
