Sports
Galway athletic teams bound for novice cross country championships
THE county’s top female athlete Alanna Lally was presented with the Schoolgirls Athlete of the Year award at the annual National Athletics awards ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry.
This was a well deserved award for her fantastic dedication and results throughout a stellar 2014. During the year, Lally won numerous National titles, including 400m and 800m, both indoor and outdoor, at U19 level.
She also set a championship best performance at 400m and won the All Ireland Schools Senior 800. Lally finished second in the National Junior 800m, just missing selection for the World Junior championships.
Meanwhile, Craughwell AC high jumper Cathriona Farrell was honoured with the Galway Bay fm Athletics Award 2014 at the radio station’s awards ceremony in the Loughrea Hotel on Saturday night.
During the year Farrell won a phenomenal number of titles, including the National Senior, National Intervarsites, National U23, indoor and outdoor, and was also selected on the Irish squad for her first senior international in the European Team Cup.
The Galway teams for Sunday’s All Ireland Novice Cross Country championships have been announced. The race will take place in Santry with the women’s event off at 2.45 pm, over 4km, and the men’s starting at 3pm, over 6km.
GCH will also field club teams in the same event in both races, while Craughwell have a men’s team. Both Galway squads have some strong athletes and will be in the hunt for county team medals, with Keith Fallon and Neil Greaney, both strong track runners, along with triathlete John Greaney, having the poential for high placings in men’s event.
In the women’s race, GCH star Alvy Carragher will expect to go well following on from her 5th place at the National intermediates earlier this year. She will be well supported by Helen Corbett, Barbara Dunne and Niamh Hennelly among others.
Senior Men: Neil Greaney, Paul Joyce, Ollie Mullins, Robert Hogan (all Craughwell AC, Martin Kearney, Billy King, Seamus Leddy, John Moroney, Culan O’Meara, Declan Duggan, Keith Fallon,John Greaney, Damien Ridge, Brian Bruton (all GCH), Vincent McGuinness, Crusaders AC.
Senior Women: Alvy Carragher, Helen Corbett, Barbara Dunne, Siobhan Egan, Niamh Hennelly, Sinead Brody, Gráinne Ní Uallacháin, Jane Walsh (all GCH), Emer O’Connell (Corrib AC), Catherine Thornton (Crusaders AC).
This Sunday sees the annual Carnmore Turkey trot, over 5km, in aid of Carnmore Hurling Club, which will get underway at 1pm. Race director Andy Talbot expects a bumper attendance, with turkeys as prizes for the various category winners. The event headquarters is at Carnmore Community Centre.
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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