Sports
Athenry go to town in dismissing city rivals’ challenge
ATHENRY and Ballinasloe Town will meet in the Connacht Junior Cup final following semi finals wins in contrasting fashion on Sunday.
At Millar’s Lane, Athenry were always in command against Bohemians, while it required penalties at the Curragh Grounds where Ballinasloe emerged victorious over a Mervue side who just cannot win a penalty shootout.
Bohemians 0
Athenry FC 5
Last season’s beaten finalists have given themselves another bite at the Connacht Junior Cup cherry as they set up a repeat of the 2012 decider when a last minute goal on that occasion gave them a dramatic victory.
This semi final at a cold but sunny Millar’s Lane certainly produced the expected outcome as the visitors weathered an early storm, before pulling away for the expected victory. However, their win was marred by the late red card dismissal of substitute Colm O’Donovan and the striker will now miss the final.
Though the most memorable moments of the game were highlighted by two terrific Declan Cullen headers, the early minutes also produced a contentious moment when the central defender escaped with just a yellow card for a challenge outside the box on Sean Guinan.
The resulting free kick by John Sange was driven over and indeed the same player had an earlier opportunity of giving the home side a shock lead, but he just could not get a touch to a Mike Carr cross.
Now it took as while for the early frantic action to settle down before Athenry had the first direct hit on goal after 12 minutes when Jamie O’Driscoll brought a save from Jimmy McDaid. They made the breakthrough on 19 minutes when Gary Forde was upended in the box and the winger picked himself up to drive a low effort past McDaid.
The city side were finding it difficult to get within shooting range of Dara Murphy’s goal as Cullen and Paddy Quinn dominated in central defence, while in front of them Gary Delaney and Jamie O’Driscoll displayed a calm authority as they edged the midfield battle.
Bohemians just threatened twice before the break, but Mike Carr could not get a touch to a Keith Fitzgerald free kick on 26 minutes before Carr fired a shot directly at Murphy in a half chance.
Athenry put some distance between the sides on 36 minutes when Cullen rose majestically to power home a header from an Alan Harty corner to make it 2-0.
Any chance of a real contest in the second half was ended on 51 minutes when the visitors were awarded a second penalty after Forde again was upended in the box and with the winger getting treatment, Alan O’Donovan directed the resulting spot kick home for a 3-0 advantage. In a replica of his opener, Declan Cullen notched his second of the day on 56 minutes with another header, following an O’Donovan corner on this occasion.
Will the result a given at this stage, Athenry appeared to drop their intensity and became somewhat lethargic. That outcome allowed the home side some more latitude and in fairness, they stepped up their performance and only for lacking some finesse in the finishing department should have broken their duck.
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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