Pearses lost out to Tommy Larkins in their final Cooper Senior Championship Group A match in Killimor yesterday evening. A win for Pearses (coupled with a win for Portumna in their game against Athenry) could have forced a playoff in the group. Pearses started slowly and Larkins had four points on the board by the time Cyril Donnellan registered the first Pearses score in the 13th minute. The second quarter seen an improvement from Pearses with Aidan Kilkenny and Colm Raftery among the scorers. Larkins led by three at the break. The second half seen further improvement from Pearses with goalkeeper Fergal Flannery coming forward to knock over two long range frees along with points from Donnellan (from play and a free) and Kilkenny. The game was in the balance heading into the final stages, but two points from Larkins, one a difficult long range free from the stand side sideline by Declan Garvey put two between the teams. In the frantic final stages Pearses looked to have secured one last throw of the dice when Kerrill Hardiman was fouled on the stand sideline. Referee Seamus Goldrick seemed to have awarded a free, but when a scuffle broke out between players from both sides he controversially decided to blow the final whistle. Pearses missed the injured Tomas Flannerys accuracy from placed balls in this game and had he been fit to play it may well have been a different result. A relegation battle now looms with Castlegar, Ardrahan and Kinvara, with Pearses back to full strength they have a good chance of Senior survival.