Sports
Late collapse leaves Connacht at foot of table
Connacht 11
Ospreys 32
THERE are some positives to be taken from Saturday’s second straight defeat at the Sportsground and Pat Lam certainly was keen to point to an improved work rate and the fact that Connacht led here 11-10 after an hour of rugby but, by the end of the game, his side were once again well beaten, once again clearly off the pace.
A shambolic pre-season programme that yielded only one competitive game has left the Connacht team on the back foot and struggling going into week three of the new season and facing what is now a pivotal fixture away to Zebre of Italy on Saturday evening. That’s not just a must win, it is a character defining game for Connacht. The attitude of the entire group will be under the spotlight this weekend.
A win won’t solve all the problems either as the team must travel to Llanelli a week later before home games against Edinburgh, Ulster and Toulouse. There’s just no way of side stepping the reality. Connacht are in a real mire at the moment and a lot of the blame is being placed on a pre-season that saw two of their three planned games cancelled.
Of course, many are also pointing to the departures from the squad during the off season. Aly Muldowney’s name stands out in these discussions. The 32-year-old second row was on the team of the week in French national newspapers at the weekend after his performance for Grenoble in their home tie with Brive.
However, two games into the season, it is far to early to judge the real impact of losing the likes of Muldowney, Robbie Henshaw and AJ MacGinty among others. The squad is well off their best form for the moment and desperately seeking redemption in the coming weeks. A fully fit, settled Connacht team will surely offer more than what we saw here in the final 20 minutes.
In fact, even though Connacht led on the hour mark, the Ospreys seemed to have an edge for most of that period. Their defensive stand before half time maintained a 10-3 lead and was akin to the type of organised intensity we saw from Connacht last season. The brilliant Rhys Webb had powered over for their first half try. Sam Davies had converted and added a penalty, while Jack Carty had Connacht’s only reply.
In the second half, Connacht got within four when Carty scored again and had the extra man when Ospreys’ influential number eight Tyler Ardron was-sin binned. They took advantage as well with Eoin McKeon scoring after a brilliant set of attacking phases that included some great work from Tiernan O’Halloran and quick hands along the backline with Bundee Aki giving the final pass.
Full 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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