Sports
Favourites Corofin have plenty of respect for Slaughtneil but won’t fear them
It’s Corofin’s Gold Cup to win, but like Cheltenham, there’s never an easy breath to be drawn until the final fence is cleared and the winning post is in sight.
Seventeen years have elapsed since Corofin won their one and only All-Ireland club title in the heady year of ’98 but since then there’s been a serious passion in the footballing heartlands of Cummer and Belclare to repeat that piece of history.
Corofin are 10/3 on favourites to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup around 5.30pm next Tuesday (4pm throw-in) in Croke Park with Derry’s Slaughtneil quoted at 7/2, but the Galway champions have been round the block too often, to read anything into the pre-match favouritism tag.
Finals in any code can be strange animals and Corofin will be wary of the Derry and Ulster champions, a side that through the course of their county, provincial and All-Ireland campaigns, have specialised in winning tight games.
Their biggest margin of victory in their last five championship matches was five points (1-9 to 0-7) against Monaghan’s Clontibret but under the guidance of much-travelled manager, Mickey Moran, they are a well tuned-in team.
Moran, like his Corofin counterpart Stephen Rochford, will have left nothing to chance in terms of ‘doing the homework’ in the run-up to this final, with his main worry the injury suffered by centre-forward Christopher Bradley in the 1-14 to 2-10 All-Ireland semi-final win over Kerry’s Austin Stacks.
Bradley suffered a broken collarbone in one of the most fiercesome but fair shoulders delivered by Kieran Donaghy, and since then he has been receiving the type of specialist medical treatment that often brings the likes of Tony McCoy back on the saddle ahead of schedule.
It would seem to be something of a miracle if Bradley manages to trot out onto Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day in the starting fifteen, but stranger things have happened, although Mickey Moran will ponder long and hard about risking another bone break for his main playmaker.
Like nearly all Ulster teams, Slaughtneil are no slouches in defence, getting plenty of bodies behind the ball when they don’t have possession, and then relying on the quick counter-attacks to deliver the hits at the other end.
Barry McGuigan at wing back loves to attack and scored the crucial goal against Austin Stacks; while inter-county midfielder Patsy Bradley is the general around the midfield sector but all through the campaign so far, the attacking threat seems to have been centred on Christopher Bradley.
Corofin will give due respect to Slaughtneil but they won’t fear them. Over the past 12 months they have cut through all opposition in Galway and Connacht putting up big scores in the county final against St Michael’s (5-12); Leitrim’s Aughawillan in the Connacht semi-final (7-20); Mayo’s Ballintubber in the Connacht final (2-13) and All-Ireland champions St. Vincent’s in the semi-final (1-14).
Blinding pace, quick movement of the ball, accurate kicked passing and a ruthless streak in front of goal have characterised Corofin’s past 12 months, and since their unexpected Connacht semi-final defeat to Castlebar in late 2013, they have added a fair measure of maturity and seasoning to their game.
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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