Galway ladies footballers still rule Connacht

Galway 0-16  Mayo 1-9

Jason Byrne at Tuam Stadium

GALWAY secured back-to-back Connacht ladies football titles as they showed admirable resolve and workrate to push Mayo aside at a sweletering Tuam Stadium on Sunday.

Cora Staunton’s threat was curbed as much as Galway could have hoped while the likes of Edel Concannon, Aoibheann Daly, Emer Flaherty, Annette Clarke and captain Sinead Burke really performed for the Tribesgirls.

Temperatures were soaring and in the opening minute, Mayo stalwart Cora Staunton tapped over a free but this was to be her only score of the half. With Emer Flaherty given the job of marking her, two of the finest ladies footballers ever to come out of Connacht went toe-to-toe.

Edel Concannon sent over two frees to give Galway the incentive and from this point on, Barry Downey’s side began to drive on. In last year’s decider at McHale Park, Galway had come from ten points down to dramatically secure the Connacht title. But there was no repeat of their troubled start twelve months ago as Mayo struggled early on and Galway put over their first score from play when Geraldine Conneally launched an attack and Caitriona Cormican fed Tracy Leonard who split the posts.

Cormican was performing well at centre forward and opened her account soon afterwards, as Galway’s first meaningful goal chance came when Concannon raced through and hit the upright and Mayo frantically cleared. Bouyed by a vocal home supprt, Galway kept going at their fierce rivals and captain Sinead Burke was the latest in maroon to get a score when Geraldine Conneally laid off a neat ball for the Killanin girl.

From Yvonne Byrne’s weak kick out, the ball fell straight to Aoibheann Daly who sent Galway 0-6 to 0-1 ahead midway through the first half with Mayo really on the ropes. Aileen Gilroy pointed for the visitors first score in over 15 minutes and following a scrappy spell, Concannon maintained Galway’s cushion with a neat curling score from play.

But in one lapse in concentration in Galway’s full back line, they failed to clear a high ball from Claire Egan and it fell to Gilroy who turned and found the net to bring Peter Clarke’s side right back in the game. Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.