Sports
Black and amber leave Seasiders feeling blue
MOUNTBELLEW-MOYLOUGH 1-12
SALTHILL-KNOCKNACARRA 1-7
The only riddle to emerge from this senior county football semi-final in Tuam on Sunday was in trying to figure out how Mountbellew only had five points to spare when time was called.
Mountbellew-Moylough ended up with 13 scores and 15 wides, after having Salthill on the rack for long periods of a match that at least offered slightly better value than the previous encounter between Corofin and Cortoon.
While both teams did enjoy their spells of dominance, Mountbellew’s control periods tended to last far longer than those of a Salthill side lacking any real sense of purpose for long stretches of this match.
The winners looked better drilled, more motivated and played with a far greater sense of teamwork than a Salthill-Knocknacarra side, almost completely dependent on occasional counter attacks spearheaded by Shane Maughan.
At the end of the opening 10 minutes, when Mountbellew led by 0-3 to 0-1 thanks to points from Eoin Finnerty, Joe Bergin (a massive punched effort) and Cathal Kenny (free), the writing already looked to be on the wall for Val Daly’s charges.
Quite unexpectedly though, Salthill produced one of their rare attacking spurts of creativity in the 12th minute, when Paul Butler and Shane Maughan combined to set up Marcus MacDonnachadha for a well-executed goal.
For all their early dominance, the winners now found themselves a point behind, but again the game reverted to its early pattern with Mountbellew winning a lot of good possession while their forwards looked full of pep.
Two Barry McHugh points from play along with a Cathal Kenny free had them back in front again by 0-6 to 1-2 before they had a goal disallowed in rather unusual circumstances.
A slick attacking move split the Salthill defence wide open and the simplest of goal chances looked to be there for the taking when Eoin Finnerty handpassed across the face of goal, as Paul Donnellan and Barry McHugh raced in to apply the necessary final touch.
However Finnerty’s fisted pass was just that shade too direct and the umpires adjudged that the ball had crossed the goal line before Donnellan got the final touch – it was to be one of many reprieves that Salthill enjoyed over the hour.
As the half wore on, there were more sighs than salutes from the sizeable Mountbellew-Moylough contingent in the crowd of more than 3,500, with their charges shooting 10 wides from a variety of angles and distances.
Goalkeeper Brian Donnellan, Michael Daly (3), Cathal Duffy, Cathal Kenny, Joe Bergin, Matthew Barrett and Eoin Finnerty joined in the wides fest, but just as a crisis half-time team talk loomed, the perfect antidote arrived.
The first half was in injury-time when Mountbellew midfielder Matthew Barrett laid on an inch-perfect 50 yard kicked pass to Eoin Finnerty and the full-forward finished sweetly to the net from 12 yards.
It was no more than the North Galway side deserved for their first-half effort and effectively this was to be defining score of the match. Mountbellew went in leading at the interval by 1-6 to 1-2 and after that Salthill never came closer than three points to them.
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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