Sports
Connacht captain Muldoon has no time for playing the ‘victim’ after latest setback
HALF-time in Llanelli on Sunday, and Connacht led Scarlets by 10-3. Not a bad score line but not great when considering what went before.
The visitors were annoyed to have conceded a penalty, which was converted minutes before the break. But they were angry – no, apoplectic – at having accumulated just 10 points. Twice Connacht players had crossed the whitewash, and twice the Television Match Official (TMO) ruled ‘no try’.
Matt Healy’s effort probably wasn’t a try, as he appeared to lose control of the ball before grounding, but they’re often given. Referee Marius Mitrea appeared to be about to award a try but was asked to ‘look again’ by the TMO. Eoghan Masterson’s was a try, no question. He touched down after the ball squirted out over the line but incredibly Paul Adams, the Welsh TMO, said it was knocked-on.
Standing in the dressing room at Park Y Scarlets, Connacht captain John Muldoon, no doubt seething by the injustice of it all, told his warriors: “Don’t be the victims; let’s not be the victims”.
By full-time, they were victims. A rush of blood to Ronan Loughney’s head, led to Mitrea, in consultation with Adams, ruling the substitute prop had lifted Aaron Shingler’s legs up in the air, which caused him to land on his back. Yellow card and penalty.
That was conceded in the 79th minute, and converted, leaving it 21-19, to rob the visitors of a first away win against Scarlets since 2004. It was agonising considering Connacht had fought back from 13-18 down, to lead by 19-18 with just two minutes on the clock.
Afterwards, Muldoon addressed his troops again. And despite the gut-wrenching nature of the loss, the blindside flanker remained positive. “I said in terms of what we’ve done this year and where we’ve been, and what we’ve achieved, there was a lot to take out of that game. We hadn’t scored a try in the two games (Ulster and Leinster) previously. We got over the whitewash four times.
“Obviously we only got awarded two of them but on another day we could have scored four or five tries against a team that are top of the league. Our defence has been going well but there was a bit of a drop-off in the last couple of weeks in attack and I think we certainly got back on track again. That attacking edge was back,” he said.
The Portumna man was emphasising the positives at the tail-end of the week in which it was announced he had extended his contract with the province for another year.
Much has changed since Muldoon made his debut 13 seasons ago. For one, the Sportsground is “unrecognisable” now. The 33-year-old, who has played 260 times for the club, and accumulated three international caps, remembers the day Connacht faced Harlequins at College Road in 2004. He was in the main stand, looking over at the opposite side of the ground, where the Clan Terrace et al is now.
“There was one building there. That was it. Nothing else. There was no gym; there were no bars, no nothing. Just four or five steps and a couple of hundred people rammed into the steps. There were pissy-beds of yellow flowers all over the ground. And it was live on Sky Sports and all you could see was these yellow things, dandelions,” he recalls, half embarrassed.
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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