Sports
Bad day at the office as Galway hurlers and footballers lose crunch league games
Dara Bradley and Francis Farragher
GALWAY’S flagship GAA teams will ply their trade in the second tier of their respective leagues next season after a disappointing Sunday for the county.
The hurlers dropped out of the top-flight for the first time in two and a half decades by losing to Cork in the relegation play-off at Pearse Stadium.
Cork were poor when they were beaten by six points in round one of the league in Salthill on St Valentine’s Day; but as Galway has discovered, it is hard beat the same team twice. A frustratingly slow start and the concession of two scrappy goals late in the game proved Galway’s downfall as Cork recorded their first league win of the campaign to avoid the drop. The final score was 2-22 to 0-25.
Meanwhile, the footballers remain in Division Two after their push for promotion fell short against Cavan at Kingspan/Breffni Park earlier in the day.
Galway started brightly to lead 1-4 to 1-1 after the first quarter, and held a three-point advantage at the break (1-8 to 1-5). However, the home side soon took control and dominated proceedings. Kevin Walsh’s charges had a goal opportunity late on to snatch victory but Cavan held on to triumph, 1-16 to 1-12, in this winner-takes-all clash. The Ulstermen are promoted to the top flight and will now contest the Division Two final with Tyrone at Croke Park in a fortnight’s time.
At Salthill, Galway senior hurling manager, Micheál Donoghue conceded he was disappointed to be relegated but said it won’t affect championship preparations. “This result isn’t going to define our year,” insisted the Clarinbridge man.
“We’re going to push on from this and history has shown that teams who have contested the relegation battle have still gone on and done well in the championship . . . obviously we’re bitterly disappointed going down to Division 1B, and we’re not going to hide that fact, but we just push on now for the championship and obviously when the league comes around again we try and get back to 1A.”
Donoghue said Galway recovered from a poor start and were in a “decent enough” position, three points up with eight minutes or so remaining before they were hit by killer goals. “That’s probably what hurt us most,” he said.
“We came back into it but before the game we didn’t want it to turn into a shoot-out and ultimately it did. When you play that way you’re going to live by the sword or die by the sword. They finished strong with the two goals.”
Galway was missing eight players through injury, and the defence on Sunday was lacking a few key heavyweights. “The game, of the magnitude it was, we probably could have done with players with more experience,” he conceded.
One of the positives Donoghue is taking from the campaign is he had a chance to look at 32 players since February, and that will strengthen options for the championship. On the downside, Donoghue confirmed afterwards that Jonathan Glynn will not be returning from America this summer. “We are bitterly disappointed but we just have to push on. Other teams have been here before and ended up having a good championship and hopefully that will happen,” added Donoghue.
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.
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.
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.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
