We came oh so close to witnessing a major upset in the 2017 O'Neills 40x20 Men's Singles SF's until the reigning champ Robbie McCarthy staged a truly astounding comeback under the most intense pressure!
McCarthy couldn't live with Galway's Martin Mulkerrins' relentless power and attacking play in the opener as he fell to a 21-11 defeat. And game two went pretty much the same way up until Mulkerrins served for the match at 20-13.
But from nowhere McCarthy started flatting balls, and a few hand errors crept into Mulkerrins game as McCarthy edged back one point at a time. Three serves at match point wasn't enough for Mulkerrins as the champ forced the tiebreak at his second attempt serving at 20-20 when he forced a hand error on Mulkerrins at the front court.
The spectators couldn't grasp what just happened for it seems so unlikely given the momentum of the game. Of course Robbie is no stranger to big comebacks. In the 2015 final against Charly Shanks he came from 20-16 down in the tiebreak to win 21-20.
The result was almost inevitable after that as McCarthy's confidence soared and Mulkerrins' deteriorated, with the Mullingar club man winning out 21-11.
The win set up a third consecutive final with Armagh's Charly Shanks who was in bullish form in seeing off Cork's Brendan Fleming 21-10, 21-20, with the Clann Eireann's mans power and court speed pivotal.
So it is a familiar final in a fortnights time as two great foes meet again. Ticket details will be released by GAA Handball this week.
