Sports
Gort’s best shot is not enough to floor Ballyhale
Ballyhale Shamrocks 2-17
Gort 1-15
NO dishonour, no shame in this defeat. Galway champions Gort came and delivered a performance of some note; just in the end they lost out to a craftier Ballyhale Shamrocks outfit of Kilkenny in what was an enjoyable All-Ireland senior club semi-final at O’Connor Park, Tullamore on Saturday.
Gort were plucky, no doubt about it, but the guile Ballyhale Shamrocks brought to the contest ultimately proved too much for Gerry Spelman’s charges. Quite simply, Kilkenny legend Henry Shefflin came with his ‘A’ game to hit five points from play. His performance secured him the TG4 Man of the Match award.
Shefflin may have been the best player on the field but, here’s the thing, Gort centre-half back Greg Lally still had a fine outing, scoring two points himself (a monster from distance and a 65) and claiming no less than five of Ballyhale’s puck-outs and winning two frees in a contest in which only 13 were awarded.
The duels between Shefflin and Lally underlined the high intensity this All-Ireland Club semi-final was played at for periods while other notable one-on-one battles were those between Gort’s Aidan Harte and Ballyhale’s TJ Reid and between the two respective midfields.
In respect to the latter, the Gort centre-field pairing of Jason Grealish and Sean Forde – who later swapped berths with wing-back Sylvie Og Linnane – was extremely competitive in picking up possession from the puck-outs and breaking ball, but they struggled to keep up with their Ballyhale counterparts.
In all, the Shamrocks midfield duo of Conor Walsh and Bob Alyward hit three points apiece – six points was a massive return from this sector – and, again, this was a reflection of the Leinster holders’ guile. So elusive, on numerous occasions, the Ballyhale players picked off their scores without a Gort shirt in sight.
For Gort’s part, they secured a wealth of possession, particularly in the first 40 minutes or so of the game, but their biggest problem was translating it into meaningful scoring opportunities. Too often, the distribution into the threat zones was either too slow or less than clinical. And it had to be clinical.When it was, Gort enjoyed a great deal of success.
They took a 1-0 to 0-1 lead as early as the fourth minute when Richie Cummins bagged their only goal following good work from Paul Killilea and they continued to stand toe-to-toe with the victors as Cummins, Gerard O’Donoghue and captain Lally landed inspirational points in the opening 10 minutes.
An extended report will appear in this week’s Connacht 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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