Sports
Galway depleted for opening round of National League against Meath
GALWAY’S bid to make a winning start to their Division 2 National League campaign against Meath at Pearse Stadium on Sunday (2pm) hasn’t been helped by a range of absentees due to injuries and Corofin’s All-Ireland club commitments.
The news didn’t get any better over the past few days with Annaghdown’s Damien Comer ruled out of contention for the next few weeks after breaking a finger in the intermediate hurling semi-final against Bennettsbridge on Sunday while Micheál Breathnach’s Peadar Ó Griofa picked up an injury with NUI Galway.
They join Paul Conroy and Johnny Duane on the injured list while Finian Hanley, on a belated January honeymoon, has just resumed training last week. The long term news on Conroy and Duane is quite positive with both expected to be back pushing for first team places for the March 1 home clash with Laois.
Back into contention for starting places on Sunday are the Cortoon trio of Adrian and Paul Varley and Cathal Mulryan, who were ruled out of FBD action due to their involvement with the third level colleges.
While the long term prognosis for Galway is encouraging, with the injection of possibly up to eight Corofin players into the panel and the return of his injured men, Kevin Walsh must face up to the far more immediate challenge in the shape of a Meath side that ran Dublin to two points in the O’Byrne Cup semi-final (1-15 to 1-13).
“For the moment we just have to look at what’s facing us on Sunday. In terms of player availability, we have what we have, and this will be an opportunity for a number of players to stake a place on the team.
“We could have done without the latest injury news on Damien Comer and Peadar Ó Griofa but we just have pick ourselves up and really make a huge effort to secure two home points on Sunday,” said Walsh.
He said that while they couldn’t ignore the lessons from Roscommon’s goal burst last Sunday, the overall performance from Galway was quite good, and they fought all the way to the end.
“We’ve had a good hard look at where things went wrong for us last Sunday, for a very short but a very crucial period of the second half, and we’ve been working hard to tighten things up for next Sunday.
“A good start in the league can make a really big difference and I know that the team we’ll line out on Sunday will give this match a big go. Early points in the league can help to build momentum but we are facing a major challenge,” added Walsh.
His Meath counterpart Tommy Dowd has made no secret of the fact that one of his big ambitions for 2015 is to win promotion to Division One of the National League and he will be travelling to Salthill with quite a settled side.
Paddy O’Rourke, sub Michael Newman and Sean Tobin, by all accounts, posed the most serious threat to Dublin in an O’Byrne Cup semi-final that drew a crowd of 7,500 people to Pairc Tailteann in Navan.
Meath are always an ultra-competitive outfit and in the corresponding fixture last year in Navan they dished out a 3-18 to 4-11 beating to Galway, a match that was to be a portent of things to come in terms of defensive frailties later in the year.
That scoreline does tend to take on an added relevance given Roscommon’s second half scoring burst in the FBD league final at Kiltoom on Sunday when they cut apart the Galway defence to rifle home four second half goals.
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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