Sports
Gort girls do it again
GORT Community School’s U16 C Girls basketball team made history last week when they capped off a perfect year to win their second All-Ireland Schools final on a scoreline of 45-39.
Their victory over Coláiste Chroí Naofa of Cork completed the League and Cup All-Ireland double in 2015 for this talented Gort Community School squad.
With prior experience of playing in the National Arena, Tallaght behind them, Gort opened the match with intensity to establish an early lead. Their tactical game plan saw some excellent points being put on the board with Lisa Della Chiesa, who was awarded Most Valuable Player on the day, being both the creator and convertor of a number of effectively worked fast breaks.
Edel Nolan, Ciara Helebert and Olga Burke also secured some fine baskets during the opening half through some excellent team play and cuts to the basket. Despite Gort’s dominance at this stage, Coláiste Chroí Naofa’s long and accurate shooting range kept them in contention at all times.
A well finished basket from Áine Murphy just before the half time buzzer gave the Gort girls a five point advantage, but the game was far from over. The second half saw an increase in the Cork side’s momentum.
Following a quick start off the block, it wasn’t long before their tactics began to cause problems. Aisling O’Leary’s effective attack through the heart of Gort’s defence time and again allowed her to gain a constant route to the basket to tally point after point.
This dominant patch from Cork initiated a change in Gort’s defensive structure to thwart the threat of Coláiste Chroí Naofa’s main play maker. Kate Tarpey, Ciara Helebert and Hannah Keenan helped Gort to regain their composure in defence and to maintain a five point lead heading into the last eight minutes.
In what was a pulsating final quarter, Gort showed true resilience in defence. At this stage Gort’s captain Olga Burke dug deep to lead the way and despite trying to shrug off an injury, she still managed to secure four points for her team at a truly pivotal stage.
These points were then answered by Coláiste Chroí Naofa’s Myra O’Sullivan who hit two impressive three pointers to bring it to a three point game in the closing minutes.
This time, however, it was Áine Murphy of Gort Community School who replied with an important basket to show her side were never going to give up the fight.
At the final whistle, the scoreline was 45-39. The historic day belonged to the Gort Community School girls and to their dedicated coaches Pat Bourke, Olivia Daniels and Anne McLoughlin.
“We do a lot of training”, said MVP Della Chiesa. “Every Saturday we train and we were training and playing matches during the mid-term as well. It’s a big help. This is unreal. Hopefully, next year we’ll be back as well.”
Gort CS top scorers: O Burke 18, L Della Chiesa 14, A Murphy 8.
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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