Sports
Galway champions complete the three- in-a-row
COROFIN 3-13
MOUNTBELLEW-MOYLOUGH 0-12
COROFIN, by their own high standards might have laboured a little through this year’s county championship, but just when they needed it most the title holders produced a devastating display of footballing power to record a first ever three-in-a-row of wins for the club.
History will provide its own testament to this success on Sunday with Corofin the first club in the county to record three county senior successes in a row since the magical Purcell and Stockwell Tuam Stars era of the 1950s.
Mountbellew were valiant and honest in their efforts and for the first 45 minutes of this county final played through idyllic sunshine before 4,500 spectators at Tuam Stadium they stayed in touch, but eventually the dam burst and then there was to be stopping of the Corofin tidal advance.
If one word summarised this Corofin performance, it was pace. Over recent years, their training stints have taken on a legendary status in terms of speed and intensity — last Sunday they replicated those many evening sessions on the biggest stage of all in Galway football.
The signs were ominous for the losers from the early minutes of the match . . . barely 12 seconds had elapsed when powerful midfielder Ronan Steede sped through the Mountbellew defence before pointing . . . all of Corofin’s first touches were true and their passes invariably hit the midriff of yellow jerseys.
Corofin in full flight, it must be acknowledged, are quite an exceptional force and they called on their entire repertoire of talents to deliver the almost complete performance. Mountbellew-Moylough battled and scraped admirably – their effort and commitment was unquestionable — but in the end they just had to succumb to a far superior force.
To beat Corofin, the opposition have to score heavily and in the case of Mountbellew last Sunday they probably needed to ‘hit the onion bag’ on at least a couple of occasions – in fairness to them, they twice came close in the first half to landing those critical scores.
Midway through the first half when Corofin goalkeeper Thomas Healy slipped on a kick-out, Michael Daly picked up the ball and set up Eoin Finnerty for a goal chance – however Healy atoned for his earlier mishap by saving brilliantly.
Shortly after, Barry McHugh managed to elude the tight marking defensive blanket and as Healy advanced again he tried a delicate chip from 20 yards that clipped the top of the crossbar for a point. Twice Mountbellew had come within inches of landing major scores but alas the green flag wasn’t raised.
These are the ‘what might have beens’ for Mountbellew but at the other end Corofin were creating goal chances, at times by the minute it seemed. Ronan Steede, given far too much latitude by the Mountbellew midfield, again cut through their defence in the 19th minute before blasting a high velocity bullet past a helpless Brian Donnellan. Three minutes later, as Corofin moved the ball quicker than the blink of an eye, Gary Sice and Jason Leonard set up Martin Farragher for a tap-in goal — and it could have been worse, much worse, for Mountbellew.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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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