St James u12 A footballers emerged victorious in the Group 1 Under 12 A final by defeating Loughrea in a pulsating and tension filled encounter in Tuam Stadium. The game was played in excellent conditions in the historic ground reffed by Fr Griffin’s stalwart Kieran Quinn . Loughrea started the brighter and with the aid of a strong breeze kicked some excellent scores in the opening quarter . It took a while for the Jimmies youngsters to settle but they battled well against the breeze . Loughrea established a good platform in midfield and with Luke Connaughton in sparkling form up front they went 1.2 to 0. 0 ahead after 10 minutes. St James at this point showed great resolve and started to work their way into the game.
Niall McHugh set the tempo and had a fantastic performance from the off where he marshalled Loughrea dangerman Cathal Larkin excellently throughout. Wing forward Jamie de Paor kicked 3 excellent points for the Jimmies to answer the Loughrea onslaught. Sean O’ Halloran also added a crucial point too. By the time the half time whistle went Loughrea were ahead by 3 points. The game ebbed and flowed in the first half and the crowd certainly enjoyed the fare . The second half was end to end frantic football too with no let up of pace throughout. St James Oisin scanlon kicked two wonderful points as St James narrowed the gap to a solitary point. Alan Corcoran, Cormac Murphy, Liam Kelly and Liam Murphy also kicked some wonderful scores. Loughrea really showed their mettle and answered their city counterparts score for score.
With literally a minute left and the game deadlocked, Liam Murphy kicked a long ball into Jamie de Paor who steered the ball home with the citeog. It was a tonic goal at the crucial moment in the game! Loughrea’s resistance had finally broken. St James hung on and when Kieran Quinn sounded the final whistle St James had done it! It was a fantastic advertisement for underage football in Galway. Both teams gave everything they had from the off. Alan Corcoran received the cup from Coiste chairman Michael Ryder. It capped off a fantastic evenings football.
