Niall Hurley ensures Claremorris survive extra-time thriller in Aghamore

MAYO U-21 CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL

Aghamore 1-19

Claremorris 3-15

(after extra-time)

In Aghamore

In truly dramatic circumstances, Claremorris booked their place in the final against Westport.

Twice the South Mayo men must have felt, that they had the game put to bed, but each time Aghamore came back from the dead to bite them.

After a see-saw battle in the first half between two very evenly-matched sides, the scores were level after 30 minutes: Aghamore 0-10 Claremorris 2-4. Niall Hurley and Adam Beirne scored the goals for the visitors.

For large parts of the second half, it looked like Claremorris would wrap this up in regular time.

In the final moments of the second half, they found themselves up by two points. It was deep into injury time, when Aghamore's Cillian Mooney stepped up and showed some excellence by slotting a two-point free to force extra-time.

And then, in extra-time, Claremorris almost hammered home in style. A goal and a point by Niall Hurley, and a point from Darragh Beirne gave them a five-point lead with only eight minutes left.

The home side looked beaten for a brief moment. But they defied the odds again and showed great character. First, Oisin Casey backed himself to score a magnificent two-pointer from play.

And then, Conall Breslin marched past several Claremorris defenders to raise a green flag. Suddenly, the teams were level again with only a minute left to play in extra-time.

However, a solo run from Hurley broke Aghamore hearts. The Claremorris forward escaped his opponent, and from a tight angle he didn't even think about scoring another goal. Hurley knew, a point might just do. He fisted the ball over the bar, to the loud cheers of the away supporters.

Sean O'Connell added another one, to make sure Claremorris would escape from Aghamore by the skin of their teeth.

A full match report will be carried in Tuesday's Mayo News. 

READ NEXT: Mayo champions fall to Roscommon power in Connacht final