Sports
Hurling heartbreak for Galway
Kilkenny ……1-22
Galway …… 1-18
More hurling heartbreak for Galway as their dreams of bridging a 27-year gap in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final died a brutal death at Croke Park as Kilkenny produced a second-half tour de force.
And adding to the agony was the fact that the underdogs from the West had put themselves in prime position to end the long drought since their last triumph in 1988, building up the hopes of their supporters when deservedly leading by 0-14 to 1-8 at half time.
They had hurled with precision and passion to completely knock Kilkenny out of their stride in that opening period with Joe Canning’s 0-7 haul being superbly supplemented by four epic points from Jason Flynn.
The massive Galway presence in the 80,000 crowd were beginning to contemplate the county capturing the Liam McCarthy Cup for only the fifth time in their history so assured and tactically astute had their display been.
But it was all to implode dramatically on the resumption as Kilkenny rediscovered the intensity and accuracy that are their trademarks, but which had been little in evidence prior to the break, to put a stranglehold on the game straight from the restart.
The champions had eliminated the deficit inside seven minutes and, worryingly for Galway at the far end, they were seeing very little possession up front as Kilkenny shut off the supply routes that had flourished before the interval.
With space at a premium, Galway increasingly lost their composure and shape in face of the pressure and had the demeanour of a beaten team for much of the final quarter, only two long-range points from substitute Dermot Collins and a late Joe Canning goal from a free lifting the second-half gloom.
The Galway supporters, who had turned Croke Park into a sea of maroon and outnumbered their Kilkenny counterparts by about three to one, were crestfallen after three weeks of such high expectancy since the semi-final success. In stark contrast, this was Kilkenny’s eighth title in the past ten years.
But there was no shame in the Galway performance. It took a masterful second-half display to overturn them and the fact of the matter is that they had Kilkenny rattled for much of the first half in which their dominance was not fully reflected in the three-point interval margin.
In a half that often lacked continuity, they exploited the flanks to great effect on the back of goalkeeper Colm Callanan’s brilliantly-executed strategic puck-outs.
Canning and Flynn delivered a procession of wonderful points to give them a significant first-half advantage, although they were decidedly fortunate to retire to the dressing-room with a full complement of players after Johnny Coen escaped with a benign yellow card for a neck-high tackle on full-forward Walter Walsh as he bore down on goal.
Although the full-back line occasionally looked vulnerable, they scrambled well and it took an unfortunate slip by full-back John Hanbury in the 12th minute to allow Kilkenny carve the opening for TJ Reid to score the only goal of the half.
Otherwise, Galway had enjoyed the majority of the productive moments in that first period and were less than flattered by their half-time advantage, but it was all to change utterly on the turnaround as Kilkenny shook off the shackles to reveal much of their customary wizardry.
The outcome was that Canning and Flynn were starved of the ball they had thrived on earlier and there was little opportunity in attack to turn things around, though matters were not helped by bad wides from Canning and sub Conor Cooney, while Conor Whelan shot weakly when presented with Galway’s best goal opportunity ten minutes from time.
Truth to tell, it was one-way traffic to the finish as Kilkenny outscored Galway by 0-14 to 1-4 in that decisive second spell, Canning’s goal coming at the death.
Scorers for Kilkenny: TJ Reid (1-7, 0-5 frees, 0-2 65s); R Hogan, E Larkin, G Aylward, C Fennelly, M Fennelly, W Walsh (0-2 each); J Coen (own point), C Fogarty, P Walsh (0-1 each).
Scorers for Galway: J Canning (1-8, 1-5 frees); J Flynn (0-4, 3 frees); C Whelan, D Collins (0-2 each); C Donnellan, David Burke (0-1 each).
Subs for Kilkenny: R Power for R Hogan (60); J Power for G Aylward (62); G Lally for C Donnellan (64);
Subs for Galway: D Collins for A Harte (24); F Moore for A Smith (blood, 43-45); G Lally for A Smith (blood, 51-52); C Cooney for A Smith (56); S Maloney for J Flynn (65);
KILKENNY: E Murphy; P Murphy, J Holden, S Prendergast; P Walsh, K Joyce, C Buckley; M Fennelly, C Fogarty; C Fennelly, R Hogan, TJ Reid; G Aylward, W Walsh, E Larkin.
GALWAY: C Callanan; P Mannion, J Hanbury, J Coen; I Tannian, Daithi Burke, A Harte; A Smith, David Burke; J Flynn, C Donnellan, J Glynn; C Whelan, J Canning, C Mannion.
Referee: J Owens (Wexford)
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
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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.
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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