Sports
Hurlers flunk key test in losing top flight status
Galway 0-25
Cork 2-22
NOT the end of the world but a pretty dire result nonetheless.
Galway slipped out of the top tier for the first time in quarter of a century after succumbing to late goals from cocky Cork. They will next year contest Division 1B of the National Hurling League, along with some of the minnows of the game, Kerry and Offaly. Playing like they did on Sunday at Pearse Stadium, they won’t be out of place in the lower division.
How did it come to this? Galway was 35 minutes away from capturing Liam McCarthy last September and now they’ve slipped out of the country’s top six teams.
It cannot be analysed without reference to the peculiarity of the league system. Prior to the weekend, Galway earned one win and two draws and Cork lost all five games, and yet it came down to a winner-takes-all battle. It hardly seems fair. But they’re the rules.
What has to be factored into the entire league performance, too, is here was a squad that used its collective muscle to force regime change in a winter of discontent. The back-drop to this competition was Anthony Cunningham’s messy departure; the elephant in the room.
So it wasn’t an ordinary league; and Sunday wasn’t an ordinary league match. Survival was on the line. Reputations were on the line. It was high-stakes. Galway had something to prove.
And yet instead of laying down a marker early, they were flat, struggled to get to the pace of the game, and were second best in the first half in particular.
Cork was under pressure too. They were stung by criticism this spring – much of it merited – and so there was always going to be a sting in their tail.
But what about Galway, where was their kick? Backs to the wall and yet the response wasn’t adequate.
At some stage the players will have to stop pointing the finger of blame at the person who is managing them.
You’ve got to cut manager Micheál Donoghue some slack. His appointment Christmas week means the other counties had a head-start in terms of preparations. He’s been unlucky with injuries and in fairness, through necessity and experimenting, Donoghue used over 30 players in the campaign, probably the most tangible positive to be taken from the disappointment.
It’s worth noting that none of what happened in the league will matter one jot if Galway can capture an All-Ireland title this summer. Had Galway won the league, we wouldn’t get carried away, so it’s important not to be too despondent. But still, this result is bad for momentum, bad for morale, bad for the optics, and it’s a bad omen for the year ahead. It was the underperformance as much as the result that will rankle with grassroots.
Extensive coverage 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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