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Inside Track

Gort give it everything but Shefflin stands a man apart

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Gort defender Aidan Harte gets to the ball ahead of Ballyhale Shamrocks Henry Shefflin during the All-Ireland Club hurling semi-final at O'Connor Park on Saturday.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

Gort may have harboured some regrets over how a couple of previous All-Ireland Club hurling campaigns ended, but they have no need to beat themselves up after last Saturday’s championship semi-final in Tullamore. In simple terms, the better and classier team carried the day.

For sure, the Galway title holders were typically feisty and gave it their best shot at O’Connor Park, but they came up against a superior force in a star-studded Ballyhale Shamrocks outfit who remained on course for a record breaking sixth All-Ireland title in front of a disappointing crowd of little more than 2,500.

The Kilkenny men hadn’t looked anything exceptional in only getting the better of Offaly’s Kilcormac/Killoughey after extra time in the Leinster final last December, but they stepped up measurably on that form last Saturday and, overall, Gort weren’t able to cope despite enjoying some strong passages and a decent enough start.

Normally, you wouldn’t expect a 36-year-old to have such a big influence in such a competitive environment, but Henry Shefflin is no ordinary hurling soldier. The sport’s most successful individual of all-time started on the forty and reminded all and sundry about his greatness in a man of the match display. Shefflin drifted around the half-forward line for much of the hour from where he conducted the Ballyhale attacking orchestra.

Apart from landing five points from play, Shefflin was the critical link in many other scores for Shamrocks whose forwards in general had the beating of the Gort backs. The ten-times All-Ireland winner may have nothing left to prove, but great sportspeople tend to possess extraordinary competitive instincts and no one should doubt Shefflin’s will to win after this hard fought club semi-final.

Gort always knew Saturday’s clash would stretch them in more ways than one. They certainly fronted up to Ballyhale physically – opposition full forward Colin Fennelly experienced plenty of hardship – but they shot some careless wides at times and also tended to carry the ball into traffic. Gort fought an honourable battle but the gulf in standard between the teams was reflected in them trailing by 2-17 to 1-11 with only eight minutes remaining.

To their credit, Gort never threw in the towel and they had the last four points of the match from the impressive Richie Cummins, Michael Mullins, Greg Lally and substitute Shane Walsh, but the horse had bolted and Ballyhale were never in the slightest danger of being overhauled as they set up a St. Patrick’s Day showdown with Kilmallock – the first Limerick club to reach the final in over 20 years.

Gerry Spellman’s charges needed a good start to shake up their vastly more experienced rivals and they got it too when Cummins finished from close range after the battling Paul Killilea had made the initial incision in the Ballyhale defence. With Cummins, the lively Gerard O’Donoghue and Greg Lally, a rousing long range effort, tacking on points, Gort led by 1-3 to 0-4 after nine minutes and were really carrying the fight to the strong pre-match favourites.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune

Tyrone will come out guns blazing but Galway will weather the storm

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Galway manager Fergal Healy with his wife Karen and children, from left, Finn, Tess, Rowan and Conn after their Leinster Minor Hurling Final victory over Kilkenny in Portlaoise on Friday evening. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.

You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.

A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.

There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Connacht Tribune

Galway footballers are shaping like a team which could go all the way

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Galway team manager Padraic Joyce with his daughter Jodie and son Charlie holding the Nestor Cup, along with Captain Seán Kelly after Sunday's Connacht Final triumph over Sligo at MacHale Park. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.

To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.

Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.

Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

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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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Connacht Tribune

Leinster hurling race so predictable but skin and hair flying down south

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Galway’s Conor Whelan lays off a pass against Kilkenny’s Mikey Butler during Sunday's Leinster Senior Hurling Championship tie at Nowlan Park. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.

All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.

In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.

Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.

In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.

For more, read this week’s Connacht 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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