Corofin 7-17 Oughterard 0-11
Corofin created goal chances for fun in Pearse Stadium.
And they weren’t in the mood for passing them up. This was a baptism of fire for the recently crowned All-Ireland intermediate champions Oughterard, who were quite simply destroyed by Corofin in the first round of the Galway senior championship on Sunday.
But in truth, Oughterard need not feel overly dispirited about their display because in this mood, there isn’t a team in the country who could live with Kevin O’Brien’s finely tuned machine.
There were no cobwebs to shake off here. Corofin started like the scalded cats who have won three All-Ireland club titles in a row, and are in hot pursuit of an unprecedented 8th Galway title in the last eight years.
In many ways, young Darragh Silke sums up the magic that has fuelled this brilliant team through the last decade. Just 21 years of age, he’s been on the panel for four years but hadn’t nailed a place on the team…until now.
On Sunday, he made one of his first championship starts for the iconic club and he grasped his chance with both hands, the former Galway minor and under-20 star kicking 1-7 from play in a power hour of club football.
Cúl eile faighte ag Darragh Silke 🤩@CorofinGAA @Galway_GAA @GAA_BEO #GAABEO pic.twitter.com/cMFn27PQgn
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) August 2, 2020
Off left and off right, Silke – a brother of defender Liam and nephew of Ray- gave a masterclass of accurate shooting and clever decision making as he kicked his way to man-of-the-match and indeed, to the forefront of Kevin O’Brien’s plans for the year.
Afterwards, he gave an interview that showed the hunger and the desire that still exists in the panel and indeed the approach from top to bottom, that has set this great club apart.
“This is my fourth year on the panel and I’m under pressure to get a place. You just know that there’s someone there to take your place if you take your foot off the pedal…”
“Sure Kieran Fitzgerald retired last year at 39. If he was comfortable in his jersey, I don’t think he’d have been playing for so long.”
Tá Laoch na hImeartha bronnta ar Darragh Silke inniu
'It's the same style of football the whole way through…it's building players and people'@CorofinGAA @Galway_GAA @GAA_BEO #GAABEO pic.twitter.com/lUGWcagF4J
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) August 2, 2020
“It’s the same style of football the whole way through. Everyone would have heard of Frank Morris (underage coach) – he was onto us left foot, right foot, style, the skills of the game. We haven’t won much underage, but it’s not about winning at underage, it’s about building players and people…”
And now, they’re in hot pursuit of an eight Galway title in a row.
