Fine draw attracts poor crowd

Even if the man in black, Joe Harlin, had been armed with a pneumatic drill, it is that doubtful that he could have separated Connacht and Ulster from their siamese binding in the Railway Cup interprovincial football semifinal at Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon, yesterday.

Ninety-two minutes after the throw-in, which was sufficient time for the spectators to have icicles form around their protective headwear in the wintry weather, and 30 scores later, Connacht and Ulster finished as they had started: level. It wasn't for the want of trying (endeavour rather than finesse being the primary ingredient), however, and, given the crowded nature of the GAA's fixtures calendar, the Games Administration Committee will, over the next day or two, have to find a hole in the schedule for the replay.

That's another day's work. Yesterday, the association's amateur footballers put their weight behind a competition which, when all is said and done, definitely requires regeneration. Little more than 1,000 spectators ventured through the turnstiles to huddle on the terraces for this game; and a score or more made their exit from the ground at the end of normal time, not even bothered to wait for the additional 30 minutes. Ironically, that was their loss because the extra-time produced arguably the best fare - and the most passionate - of the game!

Certainly, the two minutes of injury time at the end of, firstly, normal time and, then, extra-time produced drama aplenty with two of the older hands, Ulster's Tony Boyle and Connacht's Sean Og de Paor, adopting the role of saviours for their respective sides. Such herculean acts, though, papered over other areas in a match which had some 77 frees, 51 of them in normal time, and a total of 20 wides, 13 of them to Ulster.

Admittedly, many of the frees were awarded for petty fouls and, at times, the referee's inconsistency had the crowd baying. At least it made them warm. Still, the evidence of the first-half, when Ulster played into the stiff breeze, suggested they had the upper hand.

Connacht had started better, with full-forward Adrian Cullen, especially, causing problems for the Ulster defence. Cullen, in fact, kicked two nice points in the opening 15 minutes as Connacht edged into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead, but they didn't score again for the rest of the half and Fermanagh's Raymond Gallagher finished the period in some style by kicking three unanswered points to leave the sides level at the break.

With the wind on their backs, the suspicion was that Ulster would coast home. It didn't happen that way. Mayoman David Brady, plucking the ball effortlessly from the air, started to dominate around midfield for Connacht. His countyman James Horan, introduced as a substitute, scored two points and also impressed (although he was mysteriously substituted himself in extratime), while Paul Taylor was proving extremely accurate from frees.

And so it was that Connacht led by 0-9 to 0-7 as the clock ticked down. Time for a hero, and Boyle responded. The Donegal man kicked two points - one from a free, the second from play - to force extra-time, although at one stage in additional time it looked as if his efforts had been in vain.

When Henry Downey, who'd had a fine game, blocked Cullen with his foot, referee Harlin awarded a penalty. Connacht were leading 0-13 to 0-11 at the time - 14 minutes into extra-time - and, with scores hard to come by, Taylor's decision to take a point, giving them a three-point gap, seemed very sensible.

But, as if to take any sense out of the equation, Ulster responded by kicking the next three points: one in the dying seconds of that period, from impressive substitute Ger Cavlan, and two pointed frees from Boyle and the hard-working Dermot McCabe, shortly after the restart, to level affairs again.

The next 10 minutes didn't produce a legitimate score, although the two full forwards, Cullen and Boyle, had "goals" ruled out for transgressions at either end of the pitch in the space of 30 seconds. A draw seemed on the cards until Cavlan produced a magnificent point from near the road touchline to give Ulster a onepoint lead in injury time at the end of extra-time. However, Connacht's captain de Paor had the last word. He soloed 40 yards, unchallenged, up the field and kicked the equalising point to ensure the two sides would meet again.

In normal circumstances, the replay would be expected to take place next Sunday. However, Section D of the National Football League resumes on that day, which complicates matters, unless Ulster agree to play without members of their Down contingent, the only northern team involved in league games. It is a matter which the GAC will address today or tomorrow.

Connacht - P Burke (Mayo); K Mortimer (Mayo), G Fahy (Galway), F Costello (Mayo); D Heaney (Mayo), J Nallen (Mayo), S de Paor (Galway) (0-2); P Fallon (Mayo), D Brady (Mayo); L Dowd (Roscommon) (0-1), E O'Hara (Sligo) (0-1), C McManaman (Mayo) (0-1); C McDonald (Mayo), A Cullen (Leitrim) (0-3), P Taylor (Sligo) (0-5, all frees). Subs - J Horan (Mayo) (0-2) for McDonald (38 mins); B Walshe (Sligo) for Dowd (53 mins); D Donlon (Roscommon) for Horan (71 mins); D Mitchell (Galway) for Brady (87 mins).

Ulster - F McConnell (Tyrone); P Devlin (Tyrone), JJ Doherty (Donegal), G Coleman (Derry); N Hegarty (Donegal), H Downey (Derry), K McGeeney (Armagh); J Burns (Armagh), D McCabe (Cavan) (0-3, two frees); P Reilly (Cavan), P Canavan (Tyrone), P McGrane (Armagh(0-1); R Gallagher (Fermanagh) (0-3, two frees), T Boyle (Donegal) (0-6, five frees), M Linden (Down). Subs - A Tohill (Derry) for Linden (37 mins); J McGuinness (Donegal) for Reilly (56 mins); G Cavlan (Tyrone) (0-2) for Gallagher (59 mins); C Lawn (Tyrone) for Doherty (76 mins), P Brewster (Fermanagh) for Hegarty (76 mins).

Referee - J Harlin (Meath).

Francis McInerney of Munster gathers under pressure from Leinster's Denis Lalor during the Railway Cup semi-final in Killarney. - (Photograph: Sportsfile).