Sports
Clinical champs overcome early rustiness to advance
Corofin 1-14
An Cheathrú Rua 0-10
An Cheathrú Rua might well be disappointed that they didn’t pull off a shock win in Pearse Stadium last Saturday evening, or at least put it up to Corofin for a bit longer in the Round 4 contest. The Connemara men had the better of Corofin for large swathes of the game only for the defending county champions to finally put their foot on the gas during the final third of the match.
The sides were level at half-time, 0-6 each, but An Cheathrú Rua should really have been at least a point or two up. Corofin were having their first championship outing since the end of May and the rust was all too apparent on Kevin O’Brien’s charges. Their passing was sloppy, their intensity was lacking but An Cheathrú Rua couldn’t take full advantage.
Corofin have been the dominant force in Galway football in the last number of years for a reason, however, and they upped their game considerably in the second period to leave their opponents in their wake. They outscored An Cheathrú Rua 1-8 to 0-4 during that final 30 minutes and probably had a couple of extra gears had they really been needed.
The momentum of the game, which had been strongly in An Cheathrú Rua’s favour, began to swing early in the second half. Oisín Ó Gríofa had put Micheál Ó Loideáin’s side ahead, 0-7 to 0-6, but three wides in the next ten minutes, including an inexplicably missed 14m free from Cillín de Paor, slowed An Cheathrú Rua’s progress. Corofin, on the other hand, were clinical.
A minute after Ó Gríofa had put An Cheathrú Rua ahead, Michael Farragher played a long ball into Joe Canney, the lively corner-forward popped a pass of to Jason Leonard and he made no mistake in levelling the scores. Ninety seconds later, Farragher again found Canney, who again laid it off to a supporting teammate, Kieran Molloy this time, and Molloy put Corofin into a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Just after de Paor missed his close-range free, Barry O’Donovan nailed a ‘45 for Corofin to confirm the shift in momentum. Corofin were soon five points to the good, 0-12 to 0-7, as the game entered the final quarter, Joe Canney, Gary Sice and Jason Leonard all adding to their total.
An Cheathrú Rua continued to look for a way back into the match and they had the gap back to a goal with a little over ten minutes remaining thanks to a Cillín de Paor point from play and a ‘45 from Oisín Ó Gríofa. Corofin, however, always looked to have the measure of their opponents at that stage.
They came within inches of an opening goal in the 50th minute only for Pádraig Ó Loideáin to deny Gary Sice with a superb last-ditch block. The respite did not last long, however, as Bernard Power converted the resulting ‘45.
Full coverage in 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.
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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
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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.
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