Corofin 1-11 Maigh Cuilinn 1-09
Corofin captured their first Galway SFC title since 2019 when they held off a late rally from champions Maigh Cuilinn to win by 1-11 to 1-09 at Pearse Stadium in Salthill.
And they were good value for their 22nd county title after pulling away in the third quarter with the wind after the sides had been level seven times.
Maigh Cuilinn played with the wind in the opening half but Corofin went in leading at half-time by 0-07 to 0-06 after a tight opening half where there was never more than a point between the sides.
Champions Maigh Cuilinn suffered a big blow beforehand with the loss of the injured Galway captain Sean Kelly.
The sides exchanged points six times in the opening half before Kieran Molloy edged Corofin in front with a superb point in stoppage time.
Maigh Cuilinn didn't register a wide in the opening and Peter Cooke and Owen Gallagher picked off two good points each, with skipper Dessie Conneely landing a free from the left and James McLaughlin also scoring one from distance.
Veteran Gary Sice kicked a free and one from play for Corofin, with Dylan Wall, Tony Gill, Liam Silke and Patrick Egan also hit the target before Molloy edged them in front just before the interval.
McLaughlin tied the sides for the seventh time six minutes after the restart but then Corofin took over. Sice kicked a couple of frees to put two between them for the first time and then the 39-year-old steered over a free from 30 metres on the touchline.
A good turnover by Patrick Egan as Peter Cooke bore down on goal led to a swift counter-attack which ended with Liam Silke pointing to make it 0-11 to 0-7 after 45 minutes.
They took another major step towards the title five minutes later when a surging run from Liam Silke picked out Tony Gill and he dispatched the ball to the net from close range to lead by double scores at 1-11 to 0-7 with ten minutes remaining.
Former Offaly player Johnny Moloney pulled back a point five minutes from time and then set up an exciting ending when he finished a good move with a shot low to the net in stoppage time.
That left a goal between them but Maigh Cuilinn couldn’t save their title with a late 20-metre free from Conneely flying over the bar.
Corofin: Bernard Power; Liam Silke (0-02), Conor Cunningham, Cathal Silke; Kieran Molloy (0-01), Dylan McHugh, Gavin Burke; Ciaran Brady, Patrick Egan (0-01); Brian Cogger, Dylan Wall (0-01), Tony Gill (1-01); Darragh Silke, Gary Sice (0-05, 0-04f), Jack McCabe.
Substitutes: Mike Farragher for D Silke (37), Michael Lundy for McCabe (37), Glen McHugh for Ciaran Brady (58), Martin Farragher for Wall (61).
Maigh Cuilinn: Andrew Power; Conor Corcoran, Eoghan Kelly, Neil Mulcahy; Johnny Moloney (1-01), David Wynne, Aidan Claffey; James McLaughlin (0-02), Ger Davoren; Peter Cooke (0-02), Tomas Cleary, Michael Maughan; Owen Gallagher (0-02), Paul Kelly, Dessie Conneely (0-02f).
Substitutes: Micheal O’Reilly for Maughan (33), Donal Cox for Cleary (45), Neil Walsh for P Kelly (58), Mark Lydon for Claffey (63).
Referee: Thomas Murphy (Annaghdown).
