Inside Track
Landslide wins leave Corofin vulnerable in Connacht final
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IT might seem a strange observation to make about a team which has won its last three knock-out championship games by landslide margins, but Corofin footballers are heading into really dangerous now. Untested in 2014, the Galway title holders face a major step up in class on Sunday week and, potentially, could be seriously undercooked for that challenge.
Of course, it’s not Corofin’s fault that they’ve been running rings all opponents which have barred their path in the championship so far this year, but the lack of competition in reaching the Connacht Club final leaves them vulnerable in terms of physical and mental preparedness. If ever a team was being set up for a fall, Stephen Rochford’s charges look prime candidates.
Remember Dublin at county level in 2014. Romping home in all of their games in their Leinster campaign before trouncing Monaghan led to widespread assumptions that they were All-Ireland champions in waiting. Going forward, they were nearly untouchable, but they had never been in a battle until that epic semi-final against Donegal. Taken out of their comfort zone and forced on the retreat, the Dubs developed fault lines that few thought existed. They had become so used to outplaying teams that when it came to taken on one which was superbly tactically prepared and in no mood to surrender, they struggled badly to cope.
We can draw the same parallel with Corofin although still have to face their high noon encounter with Ballintubber on Sunday week. Already installed as joint favourites to lift the Tommy Moore Cup next March, their players could be forgiven for thinking that they are on a different level to everyone else. After all, they won the Galway semi-final by 24 points; the county final by 18 points; and the Connacht Club semi-final by a scarcely believable 35 points.
Granted, it shows how ruthless Corofin can be against hapless opponents who are not fit to lace their boots, but those series of mis-matches are hardly doing them any favours ahead of travelling to Castlebar in ten days time to face Cillian O’Connor and the talented Mayo champions. Ballintubber are no novices at this level and will draw great heart from their battling victory over former All-Ireland winners St. Brigid’s last Sunday.
While Corofin were running up a cricket score against Aughawillan in Carrick-on-Shannon, Ballintubber had to roll up their sleeves to eventually get the better of the Roscommon men in their high intensity semi-final. First half goals from Padraig O’Connor and Alan Plunkett helped them to lead by three at the interval, but Brigid’s came storming back and midfielder Karol Mannion’s green flag in the 44th minute edged them in front. However, Ballintubber didn’t flinch and Cillian O’Connor’s rasper to the net ultimately saw them squeeze home after an absorbing contest.
In contrast, Corofin could possibly have sent out their third team and still overcame Aughawillan, who utterly flattered to deceive after a gritty opening which saw them trail by only 0-5 to 0-3 after 15 minutes. From there on, however, it turned into a day of horrors for the Leitrim men. They were eight down at the break before collapsing altogether on the resumption. Corofin simply went to town as they repeatedly punched big holes in the home side’s defence in amassing seven goals, three of when came from county player Michael Lundy.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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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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.
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.
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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