Sports
Galway United make first signings for 2015 campaign
Six of the Galway United squad which secured promotion to the Premier Division via the play-offs have signed with the club for the 2015 campaign.
Galway United manager Tommy Dunne expecting to add up to five more of the squad in the next 48 hours.
The club’s Player of the Season, Ryan Connolly, was the latest to put pen to paper with the club, and he joins Alex Byrne, Stephen Walsh, Jason Molloy, Ger Hanley and Jake Keegan in pledging their allegiance to a side that will revert to the name Galway United for the 2015 season.
Dunne is to speak to more of this season’s squad in the coming days, and hopes to finalise agreements with the likes of Marc Ludden, Gary Shanahan, Paul Sinnott, Conor Gleeson and Colm Horgan by tomorrow evening; while talks with Ryan Manning will begin after the club’s Young Player of the Year returns from international duty with the Irish U-19 side.
The budget for the 2015 season has been agreed by the Galway United board, and Dunne says it is along the lines of what he was expecting.
“Let’s just say there won’t be any million pound signings!” he said yesterday. “To be fair, the budget is what I was expecting, I wouldn’t have expected any more and we have to make that work as best we can now.
“The lads did the job this year, but of course making the step up to the Premier Division, we need to add a few bodies. We will need a bit of experience, I am looking at a few players, have made a few phone calls, but to be honest the money is fairly tight.
“It would be wrong to think we could compete on that level with the top sides, but I think with the players we had this year, if we can add a few more we’ll do okay,” he said.
Key to a successful season will be a strong start – Galway United certainly can’t afford to be as slow out of the blocks as they were in 2014, when they had to wait five games for a first win of the season. Athlone Town lost their first 10 games of the Premier Division campaign, and while they went on a late run of decent results, that poor start eventually cost them their place in the top flight.
Galway United can’t afford a similar start next season, but Dunne says that whatever start his side makes, his players will need the public to get behind them.
“There’s the saying that if the team does well, the fans will come out and support them, but for me, the fans need to come out for the club to do well. We need a minimum of 1,500 at every game, and I’d like to think that the clubs we will face will be a big attraction and I’d love to top the 4,000 mark at games, that would be a massive boost.
“Our fans were great to us this year, but we need more of them and on a consistent basis for next year. We played some lovely football, and if the people get behind us, it will help us build a successful team,” he said.
One of the big ‘hits’ with the fans last year was American striker Jake Keegan, and there is a chance he will be joined by more of his countrymen at the Dyke Road venue next season.
“Jake has signed, subject to a work permit being granted, but hopefully that won’t be a problem, and I’m not ruling out going to that side of the world for one or two more players. I have been told about a couple of players who could be worth a look at, so hopefully we’ll be able to get them over for a look,” Dunne said.
Pre-season training will begin on Monday January 12, and with the Premier Division fixtures list usually announced in December, it will be a busy few weeks for all involved with the club. Season tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks.
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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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.
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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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