Sports
Galway eager to settle an old score with Dublin in Leinster quarter-final
FOR the past quarter of a century, the Galway senior hurlers have had more than their fair share of trials and tribulations. And yet, year in, year out, they keep returning for more – more physical training, more psychological palaver – and, often, get very little credit for it. All for the love of it.
One such player is current Galway captain David Collins. Since making his senior debut in 2004, Collins has been through it all. The highs have been featuring in All-Ireland finals in 2005 and 2012, winning two National League titles (2004 & 2010) and claiming a Leinster crown three years ago. The lows?
Well, as many Galway supporters will be familiar with, there have been just as many, no more so than last year’s All-Ireland qualifier exit to Tipperary. “We slipped up last year. In fairness, that was what we did,” admits the Liam Mellows man. “We slipped up down in Thurles when we gave away a six-point lead.”
Galway suffered a 3-25 to 4-13 defeat and for the players it was another opportunity lost. They returned to their clubs but, for many of them, the wait to make atonement has been a long one. “We had nine weeks [from the league] to this game but we have had 10 or 11 months since our last championship game which we lost in horrendous fashion. That sits on your mind and plays with your head.
“You ask yourself ‘where did we go wrong that time?’ ‘Where did we go right?’ ‘What do we need to work on to get to that next level?’ That is what it is all about. Analysing what you did right and seeing if you can do it better. Analysing what you did wrong and asking how do you rectify it?”
Collins says this was something they sought to address in the league and to some extent, they had success with victories over Clare and Kilkenny and decent performances against Tipperary and, to a lesser extent, Cork.
“So, we have worked on that over the winter and over the last few months and I suppose what looked like a losing game against Clare in Pearse Stadium, we ground out that into a win. We also ground out a result against Kilkenny. I don’t know why we didn’t keep that going or why our aims and ambitions weren’t to grind out more results like that. League, though, is a different ball game.”
He confesses that winning a National League title or, at least, reaching the decider in order to keep them hurling closer to the championship was their early season objective but an unfathomable drop in intensity and work-rate saw performances dip in their defeats to Dublin and Waterford.
“Then again, in the league, you are trying out players and you are looking to get positions right,” continues the Galway captain. “Championship is where you really want to be and we have waited a year now to get back into this position where we can get into a Leinster semi-final.”
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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