Thrilling second half unfolds in Mayo Football League Tonra Cup Final

A resilient Kilmore claimed the Tonra Cup following a 3-2 victory against nine-man Killala, at a sun-drenched Umbro Park Milebush.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between during a lacklustre first half, however, the second half was a real roller-coaster period of the game with five goals shared between the sides.

The first noteworthy effort of the first half arrived on 31 minutes, when a chance was created for Kilmore’s Joe Mason, but his tame effort was routinely saved by James Coen in the Killala goal.

Ten minutes later, Kilmore could and perhaps should have taken the lead, however, Mikey Monaghan’s close-range effort flew inches over the crossbar.

Kilmore took the lead five minutes into the second period, when Colin Barrett’s pinging cross was headed home by the arching Monaghan, much to the delight of the green and white supporters.

Kilmore were buzzing and they added a second goal on 52 minutes when Ciaran Cawley rustled the back of the net.

Nevertheless, a doughty Killala reduced the deficit on 74 minutes. An in-swinging corner-kick by Conor Tomas caused mayhem in the Kilmore box and Michael Corrigan was on hand to bundle home a close-range finish.

Seven minutes later, Thomas James Murphy netted the equaliser for Killala and extra-time seemed a real possibility.

However, on 85 minutes, Kilmore netted what proved to be the winning goal. Justin Healy collected possession just outside the Killala 18-yard box and his daisy-cutter flew into the bottom corner of Coen’s net.

Killala tried to regroup, but their game plan suffered setbacks during stoppage time as both Conor Tomas (45+4) and Thomas James Murphy (45+6) received red cards.

In the end, Kilmore held on for a famous and cherished victory.