Sports
Corofin and Mountbellew/Moylough favourites to reach county decider
Now that the shadow-boxing of the earlier rounds is out of the way, it’s down to the serious business for the four best teams in the county who battle it out this Sunday for a place in the Galway senior Gaelic football championship final.
Reigning Galway, Connacht and All-Ireland champions, Corofin remain the team to beat as they look for a historic three-in-a-row of titles, a feat that was considered almost a certainty at the beginning of the season. It’s not so clear-cut any longer . . . Corofin’s form has dipped sufficiently in this campaign, and enough chinks in their armour have been exposed, to give the remaining three pretenders to the crown some hope going into semi-final Sunday.
In the first of a double-header at Tuam Stadium (2pm), Cortoon Shamrocks, which has a nice blend of experienced heads and youthful enthusiasm, will look to dethrone the champions at the penultimate stage. Corofin last came a cropper at the semi-final in 2012 so you could argue that now is the opportune time to meet them. But then again they hockeyed Milltown in the semi-final last year, and they have the quality to cut loose again.
A North Galway derby, Cortoon v Corofin should get the crowd to Tuam early before the mouth-watering clash between Salthill/Knocknacarra and Mountbellew/Moylough (4.15pm) in the other semi-final.
This one should be intriguing, not least because the manager of the city men is Mountbellew’s Val Daly, whose two sons, Michael and John Daly, will be lining out for Mountbellew/Moylough. Oh to be a fly on the wall in the Daly household this week!
Sunday
Corofin v Cortoon Shamrocks (Tuam Stadium, 2.30pm)
The Corofin statistics in the county championship since they were last defeated are savage. They are unbeaten in 14 games since the last occasion they suffered county championship defeat, which was against Tuam in the semi-final of 2012. They have won 13 of those games, and drawn once against the Stars before winning the replay earlier this month.
What a record. They are also unbeaten in the league this season (seven wins); and were unbeaten in last year’s league, too.
Cortoon are not without hope, though. Corofin are more vulnerable this year compared with the previous two – they are a long-time on the road, and have lost that invincible look.
They are scoring less, too, managing just 1-10 on average per match compared with 2-15 on average per game in the local championship in 2013, and nearly 3-13 on average per game in their march to county glory in 2014. Corofin are conceding more compared to those two years. They have conceded 4-34 in the campaign to date, compared with 3-36 in the five games in the 2013 championship and just 1-31over five games played in 2014.
Manager Stephen Rochford hasn’t had a full squad to pick from but is close to full strength now. Greg Higgins returned to the fray against Tuam, and while he aggravated a niggly injury, the midfielder is pushing for a starting berth, as is Ian Burke and Daithi Burke, who both came off the bench the last day. Conor Cunningham is back from US and in contention to start and long-term absentee Joe Canney (groin) is on the mend.
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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