Charlestown Sarsfields suffered a gut wrenching one point defeat at the hands of Belmullet in their opening group game of the 2019 County Senior Championship with the Erris Men holding out for a 0-8 to 0-7 victory in conditions that can only be best described as woeful as  driving rain and a hurricane like wind made it  nigh unplayable at times such was the velocity and strength of the wind in situ.

                        The Sarsfields fielded without long term injury victim Thomas Parsons and were also without their talisman Jack Reilly who was serving a one game suspension and his loss turned out to be incalculable as his ability to create and take scores was sorely missed.

                   The game was always going to hinge on the toss of the coin and so it proved with the home side winning the spin and electing to play with the elements  with the wind  strengthening with each passing minute.

                 The Sarsfields knew what was ahead of them as they struggled to get out of their own half such was ferocity of the wind they were facing. The home side had five points on the board after fifteen minutes with Shane Nallen booming over three superb points from frees as the biggest task facing the green and white was to somehow  keep the score down to manageable proportions.

                Keeper Kenny Brennan had all manner of difficulty with his kickouts as the ball travelled little or no distance which meant the green and white were hemmed in to their own half and had little or no traction going forward as they tried to keep the ball in the hands and somehow play their way out to the half way line at the very least.

             Belmullet tagged on three further points to leave the score 0-8 to 0-0 at the break with the only consolation from a green and white perspective was the fact they didnt concede a goal which would have added another layer of difficulty to the already steep hill they were facing into.

                The Sarsfields will have been disappointed with the foul count in the opening half as their tackling fell foul of some rather pedantic refeering as frees were conceded in very favourable positions for the hosts which they managed to take advantage of for the most part.

                 The Sarsfields came out for the second half keenly aware of the degree of difficulty they were in. The wind continued to howl violently but this time it was firmly behind the green and white and one felt that eight points was surmountable if the green and white applied themselves diligently and intelligently and pressed the home side all over the pitch.

                 The Sarsfields got a real bounce when Matt Lenehan and Colm Maye hit two great early points to infuse the green and white minds with belief and conviction. This was given further traction when Maye from a free and Aidan Hopkins clipped over a lovely score to reduce the gap to four with just six minutes gone in the second half.

              The green and white challenge was in a good place and it got a whole lot brighter when Colm Maye kicked a beauty from distance to reduce the gap to three with just nine minutes gone .

                   Things looked ominous for the home side as they started to cough up possession as the Sarsfields applied a full court press which worked a treat as they were now lord and masters of the game. With the Sarsfields in total command it seemed only a matter of time before they hit the front but the glut of scores we were hoping for never materialised as the green and white challenge hit a real flat spot.

               Chances were spurned as the wides began to mount  and balls were given away and bad decisions were taken in possession which derailed the green and white challenge as they went a full thirteen minutes without scoring.

              The home side butchered two great goal chances in that time  before the Sarsfields finally got their sixth point when Colm Maye pointed from a fifty with still eight minutes left on the clock.

                 Those eight minutes saw the game take on a very frantic almost manic nature as both teams handed the ball back to each other at regular intervals. The nerves were beginning to fray as the Sarsfields struggled desperately to create the chances to score with young Jack Mahon scoring an excellent point with seconds left on the clock.

                The game was there for the Sarsfields but they just couldn`t fashion the  space or scoring chances necessary to eke out a draw at the very least as possession was spilled with their composure letting them down when the need was at its greatest.

                The final whistle gave rise to contrasting scenes with the home side ecstatic at having clung on with the Sarsfields camp in contrast, distraught as the players stared at the ground in a state of disbelief , wondering how the victory had eluded them.

             Great credit must be given to both sets of players that they were able to serve up a contest in such appalling conditions. The game was a lottery from start to finish as the weather dictated the outcome from first whistle to last.

             The Sarsfields will have much to mull over as they come to terms with the result and what it means in the overall contest of the group. There can be no more slip-ups with Ballaghdereen next up, buoyed by their great escape against Claremorris in the other game in the group.

               The Sarsfields had good performances  from the McLoughlin brothers Enda and Gerard, with Patrick Walsh and David Caffrey defending well in the full back line and using the ball intelligently and wisely with and against the elements.

             Gareth O`Donnell and Patrick Goldrick had a great tussle with their direct opponents in what was a very congested and busy middle third while in attack Paul Towey, Matt Lenehan, Aidan Hopkins and Jack Mahon could hardly have played in worse or more difficult conditions in their young careers as they battled hard to make things happen but  it was very much a defender`s day with the driving rain and wind making it extremely difficult to get to the pitch of the ball as all manner of logic and  normality  went out the window in terms of forward play.

                      A tough  defeat for Martin Mulvaney and his management team to take but all is not lost and there`s still plenty left to play for. You can control lots of things on the sideline but the weather and how it impacts is something no one can legislate for and the Sarsfields were dealt a rotten card right from the throw-in. Martin will pick up the troops and galvanise them and get them back on track as this is just a bump along the road   with the talent and wherewithal  there  in abundance to bounce back and re-float our championship aspirations with the full panel determined to make it happen in some way or other.