Claremorris rue missed chances as Connacht adventure ends

LGFA - CONNACHT INTERMEDIATE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

Caltra Cuans 1-15

Claremorris 1-10

In Caltra

In the end, this will be the one that got away from Mayo's Intermediate champions.

Multiple times across a five-minute spell in the second half, the girls in blue had their Galway counterparts Caltra Cuans on the ropes as they unleashed a flurry of goal-bound efforts.

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They were a point up and the hosts looked out on their feet. However, Claremorris couldn't find that all-important three-pointer to put the game to bed.

Whether it was the woodwork, resolute defending, or inaccuracy, Claremorris failed to find the killer-score and Caltra survived the deluge.

Those making the trip from Mayo might have feared the worst at that stage, and their nightmares soon became a reality. With minutes to go, Ciara Murray fed Caragh Mullins, who rolled past Claire Keane to give Caltra a precious lead.

They had only led for 35 seconds before that point, but they cared little. The home side held the aces at full time and that was all that mattered.

Claremorris were desolate at the end. At times it felt like Bree Hession was on a one-woman mission to add a Connacht title to their historic first Mayo intermediate crown, but unfortunately her story of missed chances was symptomatic of a general Claremorris malaise from minute 40 to 45.

Hession's net-shaker with 19 seconds on the clock shook the home girls, but they recovered. The home side were five down in as many minutes, but Murray and company stood up and were counted, leaving the game delicately poised at the changeover.

The tie was on a knife-edge as those from the banks of Clare Lake peppered Theresa Loughnane's goal with efforts but they couldn't make it count.

The second wind of the eventual winners had to be admired. Defeat looked inevitable at one stage, but they were able to come out the other side. Their 57th-minute green flag had Claremorris at sixes and sevens, and the Mayo women were unable to provide a suitable retort.

By the end, the winners whooped, hollered, and embraced. They now stand an hour from provincial glory while Johnny Commins and his Claremorris troops can look back on a memorable and historic 2025.