Sports
Battle-hardened Killilea set for another County title assault
THERE are not too many defenders in the county who like shadowing Gort powerhouse Paul Killilea and, if they do, they are borderline crazy. For while Killilea may now be the age of Christ – 33 – his physical strength – in ruck ball and in the air – raw aggression, work-rate and experience marks him out as one of the top club players locally.
In this year’s county semi-final, Killilea was introduced at half-time and when the first ball landed on his head, he snapped it cleanly out of the air. Good teams have those players. Kevin ‘Chunky’ Hayes in Portumna; Johnny Maher in Loughrea; and Jamie Ryan in Craughwell. They are the ‘Go-To’ men in terms of winning the hard ball in times of trouble.
What they also have in common is that they are fierce competitors, ruthlessly so, but to understand where Paul Killilea’s raging ambition comes from you have to jump back into those years when Gort struggled to make the breakthrough. He did not grow up on the stable diet of success that the younger players in the current Gort senior squad have been privileged to be born into today.
Indeed, his past and present are like chalk and cheese. “We are making strides now but there has been a lot of hard graft and you look back down through the years when you started out and there were a lot of disappointment,” says Killilea, who chases his third SHC medal this Sunday.
“I suppose, at the time (early to mid-2000s), we got to semi-finals, but we could never get over that hurdle. Then, in 2008, we finally did, unexpectedly, but, in hindsight, it was perhaps a couple of years too soon because we had such a young team and we were playing a Portumna team at the height of their powers.
“Of course, all you can do is aspire to get to that level. In 2008, Portumna, as we said, were in their prime and we were going in there to contest our first county final in 25 years. So, there was plenty of hype and excitement and it was easy to get distracted. No matter how much you try to protect yourself from it, you are going to be around town or have people out at training. So, it wasn’t easy.”
When the final whistle blew at the end of the 2008 decider, Gort were soundly beaten, losing 1-18 to 2-7. Despite being on level terms at the interval, it all began to unravel when Andy Smith pounced for a 36th minute Portumna goal. The All-Ireland champions subsequently turned the screw. Joe Canning and Damien Hayes finished with 14 points between them.
However, it was by and large a young Gort team that took the field that day, underlined by the fact that no less than 11 of the players who saw action in the 2008 final could also potentially see game-time on Sunday.
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.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
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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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