Former Donegal captain Joe Boyle's Tooreen edged out in Connacht IHC final

Joe Boyle and his Tooreen side’s bid to win their fifth Connacht IHC title in succession came up just short in Roscommon on Saturday as Galway champions Tynagh Abbey-Duniry took home the crown.

The former Donegal captain Boyle, from Burt, played well and his Mayo champions were four to the good in the first half but the Galway men dominated large sections of the second and that proved to be decisive.

The fact that Tooreen's impressive full-forward Fergal Boland had to be withdrawn at half-time following a heavy tackle a few minutes earlier had a major bearing on the outcome.

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Tooreen were the better team for long periods of the first half and a goal from Eoin Delaney helped them into a four-point lead at the break, 1-10 to 0-9.

However, despite the best efforts of Kenny Feeney, the Tooreen attack failed to fire in the second half and with Tynagh Abbey-Duniry's free-taker Shane Moloney in brilliant form and centre-half-back Paul Killeen catching the eye, the men in maroon drew level and then edged in front as time ticked away.