Sports
Athenry, Corofin and Moycullen squeeze into Co. semi-finals
THE four Intermediate football championship quarter-finals were played over the last weekend with Athenry, Corofin and Moycullen all booking their places in the last four of this year’s competition. Oughterard and Monivea-Abbey will have to meet again to decide the fourth semi-finalist after their quarter final ended in a stalemate.
There wasn’t much to separate any of the final eight teams with Corofin’s four point win over St Brendan’s, 0-11 to 0-7 providing the largest winning margin. Also in Duggan Park on Saturday afternoon, a scoreless second half from Dunmore McHales allowed Athenry to steal past them in their meeting, 2-9 to 2-7.
Monivea’s Eoghan Roche bagged an injury time free against Oughterard as the sides finished tied 2-10 apiece, while Moycullen needed a last minute goal against Menlough to secure their passage to the semi-finals.
Substitute Philip Lydon was the hero for last year’s beaten finalists as his last-gasp goal guided Moycullen to victory. With the game well into added-time, a long ball was played into Seán Kelly on the edge of the square and while his initial effort was saved by John Gormally in goal, Lydon was on hand to steal the win.
It had been the cliched game of two halves up to that point with both sides taking advantage of the stiff breeze in Pearse Stadium. Menlough opened the scoring through Kevin Reilly inside the first minute but they would fail to score again in the half with David Wynne (3), Mark Lydon and Seosamh Ó Fatharta contributing to give Moycullen a 0-5 to 0-1 lead at half-time.
Like Menlough in the first half, Moycullen found it difficult to create scores shooting into the scoreboard end in Salthill and the East Galway side were level midway through the second period with Niall Carty, David Reilly, Mark Costello and Joey Glynn all raising white flags.
Moycullen’s first score of the half came with five minutes remaining, Peter Cooke, having been unavailable to start through injury, coming on the put his side ahead with a fine effort. Menlough responded well, however, and Kevin Reilly, Colm O’Brien and Niall Carty hit three quick-fire scores to put them two points ahead heading into injury-time only for Philip Lydon’s goal to cruelly deny them at the death.
Dunmore McHales’ players will still be kicking themselves this week as they somehow let Athenry get away from them in a game Dunmore should have had sewn up after 20 minutes. In the first of an Intermediate double bill in Duggan Park on Saturday, Dunmore were 1-5 to 0-1 up and cruising inside the first quarter of an hour.
A well-worked goal, scored by Thomas Gleeson had them 1-2 to 0-0 up after four minutes and, while Mark Healy got Athenry off the mark, points from Conor Gleeson and Damien and Matthew Reddington increased Dunmore’s lead. Their play got a little sloppy thereafter, however, and when Tom Flynn kicked a ’45 in the 22nd minute, it looked to spark Athenry.
For more, read this week’s Connacht 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.
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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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