Galway aiming to pick up the pieces after league final loss

THE Galway senior camogie team will look to bounce back from their recent National League final defeat to Kilkenny when they commence their All-Ireland campaign with a low-key championship opener against Division 2 side Westmeath at Kenny Park, Athenry on Saturday (2pm).

It’s less than a month since the Tribeswomen lost the National League decider to Kilkenny on a 1-18 to 1-15 scoreline. The damage was done in the third quarter of that game when Galway conceded 1-5 without reply, although they rallied again to level up the tie in the closing stretch.

However, the exertions of the comeback took its toll and Kilkenny subsequently ran out three-point winners, despite the best efforts of Carrie Dolan and Niamh Kilkenny who registered 1-11 of Galway’s total between them.

Of course, Galway have had to plan without experienced defender Heather Cooney, who is out for the remainder of the season following a cruciate injury, while fresh injury concerns are Orla McGrath (shoulder) and Catriona Cormican (leg). They are not expected to feature in the early games against Westmeath and Clare. Kilkenny is their final group game.

For Galway, this Saturday’s championship opener is a low key one, given Westmeath struggled in Division 2 of the National League. While they defeated Dublin (1-10 to 2-5) and Meath (3-7 to 0-12) in their first two games, they then lost their last group tie to Kildare (3-10 to 0-17) before being dumped out at the quarter-final stage by Wexford (2-23 to 1-5).

That said, Westmeath did claim a big scalp in the opening game of the All-Ireland series last October, when defeating Limerick on a 1-12 to 0-12 scoreline away in Bruff. Megan Dowdall and Pamela Greville scored eight points between them in that game, with Denise McGrath netting the crucial goal.

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.