Inside Track
Corofin remain in league of their own after final rout
Inside Track with John McIntyre
ALL the cautionary words directed towards Corofin footballers ahead of last Sunday’s Connacht Club final against Ballintubber at McHale Park may have been well intentioned but, at is transpired, were utterly misplaced and needless. For, once again, the opposition could hardly lay a glove on Stephen Rochford’s men.
This eagerly-awaited confrontation was supposed to be the defining test for the Galway champions in the province, but the match never lived it up to its billing simply because Corofin were too good; too classy; too powerful. After 44 minutes, they had stormed into a commanding 2-10 to 0-4 lead as Ballintubber became the latest victims of their unrelenting intensity and superior football.
On this evidence, Corofin will win the club’s second All-Ireland title next March. Apart from the sheer quality of their players, the team’s huge work-rate and the pace in which they move the ball has put them on a different to all rivals so far in 2014. Though it took them nine minutes to score against Ballintubber and they only led by 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval, the reality was that the Mayo holders were barely hanging on.
Young Iain Burke was the Corofin player who did the damage early on. He landed four of their opening six points, including a brilliant effort from play in the 24th minute. With the tireless Michael Lundy and the Martin Farragher also picking off fine scores, they were never headed by a Ballintubber outfit which really struggled to cope with the pressure they were coming under in all sectors of the field
Though the Mayo men might have thought they still had a chance at half-time, those notions were quickly dispelled on the resumption. Corofin’s long serving full back Kieran Fitzgerald fisted over a rousing point in the 33rd minute before two superbly engineered goals in quick succession from the impressive Gary Sice and Burke put them into an unassailable lead and, in the process, left a sixth Connacht Club triumph inevitable.
Team captain Michael Farragher had provided the key pass for Sice’s goal and it was his precise defence-splitting delivery to the same player which led directly to the team’s second green flag. All over the field, Corofin were dominant as their backs hardly allowed influential opponents, Cillian O’Connor and Alan Dillon, a look in although the latter did escape their shackles to notch a second-half goal and point, admittedly when the game was already over as a contest.
With Gary Delaney, Daithi Burke, Ronan Steede and Greg Higgins all influential in the primary ball-winning sectors, Corofin lived up to their reputation in producing another top class performance. The favourites tag doesn’t seem to bother them at all and, if anything, that mantle is proving a positive catalyst in their continued blitzing of all opponents who stand in their way.
Having reached the Connacht final without having being put any serious pressure, Corofin ought to have been some vulnerable, at least in theory, but their players are clearly in a strong mental zone and were primed for the challenge. Early on Ballintubber had no shortage of possession, but they shot some bad wides and were hardly allowed breathe by arguably the best Galway club team of modern times.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.
You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.
There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.
To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.
Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.
Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.
For more, read this week’s Connacht 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.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.
All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.
In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.
Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.
In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.
For more, read this week’s Connacht 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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