Sports
Trip down memory lane – Galway FC host Wexford Youths in Eamonn Deacy Park
The Dyke Road could be unofficially renamed as Memory Lane this Sunday as Galway United/FC plays its first Sunday afternoon League of Ireland game at Eamonn Deacy Park for more than two decades.
There were FAI Cup semi-finals in 1999 (against Finn Harps) and 2000 (against Shelbourne), but you have to go back to Sunday March 14, 1993, for the last time a league game was played at the ground on a Sunday afternoon.
That game saw Galway United defeat St James’ Gate 4-0 in a season in which Tony Mannion’s side went on to win the First Division title and gain promotion to the Premier Division, and while the same title is out of reach this time around, promotion is very much to the fore for the latest players to represent Galway city and county in the national league.
Galway FC head into Sunday’s final league game of the season against Wexford Youths (kick-off 3pm) three points ahead of the team from the South East, and with a goal difference which is 14 better off than Sunday’s visitors.
That means Shane Keegan’s side need something of a miracle to overhaul the Tribesmen and book a place in the First Division play-off against Shelbourne, although Galway FC manager Tommy Dunne is taking nothing for granted ahead of Sunday’s game.
“We need to be professional and full focussed on Sunday’s game, I think people are jumping the gun saying we have made the play-offs, but Wexford can still catch us so neither me nor my players are taking anything for granted.
“We still have a job to do and we will approach this game like we would any other – wanting to win it. If we start thinking the job is done, we could slip in to some bad habits, and you are in danger if you do that.
“Wexford will give this a right go, they will come at us from the very start and we have to be clued-in from the first whistle. In one way that might work in our favour, but we have to make sure we are at the pitch of the game from the very start,” he said.
It will be an afternoon of nostalgia for older followers of Galway United, recalling the days of the old shed and the chicken-wire boundary fence; the rickety old dressing rooms and the moss-covered ‘al-fresco’ toilets, which had strategically placed concrete blocks you could stand on to ensure you didn’t miss any of the action!
Dunne is anxious to give today’s fans a memorable end to this season’s campaign, and continue their recent impressive run, which saw five straight wins before last week’s draw away to Shelbourne. He says that only for the same old failings of the season to resurface last Friday night in Tolka Park, his side should be looking for a magnificent seven of victories on Sunday.
“It was the story of our season on Friday night – we had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but just didn’t take them. If we took even half the chances we had over the season to win games, we’d have been right in the hunt for the title, but it wasn’t to be.
“Shelbourne are waiting in the play-offs for either us or Wexford, and they are a very good side. They have plenty of experience so if we do make the play-offs, we need to be heading into those games [over the next two weekends] in the best for possible.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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