Sports
Galway City Harriers relay teams run riot in Tullamore
GALWAY City Harriers claimed five titles and set three new Irish records at the National Juvenile Relay Championships in Tullamore on Saturday last.
The U13 girls 4 x100m squad took gold in a time of 52.63, with the team of Sinead Duggan, Sarah Agboola, Emma Moore, Eimear Rowe and Chellene Trill – this same team broke the Irish indoor record earlier in the year.
GCH’s U19 boys 4 x100m quartet of Eoghan Dobey, Shane Trainor Canavan, Dylan Neary and Cillian Greene stormed home to victory in an Irish record time of 43.88, dominating the race from the start. The U18 boys were also impressive with Dobey, Sean Kilmartin, Trainor Canavan and Greene taking the honours and claiming a third record on the day for the city club, in a time of 43.53.
The U17 girls 4x100m race ended dramatically in a photo finish for the top three teams, but Sally Ann O’Malley’s dip on the line was enough to secure the gold for GCH and she was ably assisted by Lydia Doyle, Roisin Flynn and Laura Nally. The girls U16 squad of Eadaoin Langan, Laura Nally, Laoise Geraghty and Lydia Doyle also won their final in emphatic style in a great time of 50.29 to make it a fifth gold for GCH.
The club’s U18 girls were impressive too in taking silver and their squad members were Clodagh O’Hanlon, Roisin Flynn, Sarah McDonnell and Nicole King), while the club’s U17 boys (Sean Kilmartin, Luke O’Shaughnessy, Casper Poniatowski and Darren Costello) claimed bronze in an exciting finish.
The GCH U12 girls pulled off a surprise bronze too in their race with Gillian McGrath, Hannah O’Grady, Emma Moore and Aoibhinn Costelloe running the race of their lives.
Also taking place on the day was the Juvenile ‘B’ competition where Kara McCleane of GCH won silver in the 600m in a time of 1.48, with Joanna Healy in sixth. Hannah King finished 5th in the final of the 60m and Ava McCleane came third in her heat, narrowly missing the final.
Meanwhile, the Galway County ladies and GCH men’s teams competed in round two of the National Track and Field league in Athlone, with a top eight finish needed to make the League final.
Galway women’s team have made the final, with a fifth place overall finish. A quad comprising some of the county’s best talent put in an excellent all round performance to secure a place in next month’s decider.
Those competing included Maeve Curley, Sinead Treacy, Dearbhala Walsh, Sinead Gaffney, Aubree Piepmeier, Alanna Lally, Maebh Brannigan, Sarah McDonnell, and in the field, Mary Barrett and Sarah Finnegan, all of whom picked of valuable points for the Galway squad.
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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