Corofin and Salthill can get job done in knock-out ties

AFTER the heady stuff of Croke Park last Saturday and Sunday, it’s back to domestic matters this weekend in the Galway football championship, with four key matches down for decision, split evenly between the senior and intermediate grades.

The quarter-final replay between Tuam Stars and Corofin will probably get the top billing when they clash at Tuam Stadium on Sunday with the prize for the winners a county semi-final clash against Cortoon Shamrocks.

On Saturday evening at Pearse Stadium, the other quarter-final presents a novel pairing between last year’s intermediate champions Killanin and Salthill-Knocknacarra.

The intermediate championship is on a step further than the senior competition with both semi-finals listed for Pearse Stadium this weekend.

It’s a measure of Corofin’s strength in depth that their intermediate team contest a county semi-final against Moycullen in Pearse Stadium on Saturday (4.15pm), a curtain raiser to the Salthill/Killanin tie.

In the second semi-final on Sunday in Pearse Stadium (12.30), Oughterard – who came through a tight replay against Monivea-Abbey – take on an Athenry side who will be buoyed up by their quarter-final success over Dunmore.

SATURDAY

Salthill-Knocknacarra v Killanin (Pearse Stadium, 6pm)

Salthill-Knocknacarra are one of those sturdy teams in the Galway football championship – always difficult to beat but who still find it hard to go the whole way when they come up against quality opposition.

Killanin, under manager Padraig Corbett, will be delighted with their progress so far in the championship, bouncing back from a preliminary round defeat to Mountbellew before dishing out a hiding to Killererin and then battling hard to dispose of Leitir Móir.

Killanin will be hoping to have No. 3 David Walsh fit again for this clash, after suffering an early season back injury that kept him out of action so far, and team boss Corbett is looking forward to the challenge that will be posed by a side of Salthill’s calibre.

Salthill-Knocknacarra bit the dust early on against Corofin, but since then, put in solid enough displays to dispose of Milltown and Kilkerrin-Clonberne. Val Daly’s side report a pretty clean bill of health for the match and their solidity and physical strength should see them through.

Verdict: Salthill-Knocknacarra.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.