Talking Sport
Mervue Utd aiming to put a spanner in the FAI’s works
Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon
COME Saturday night, Mervue United could possibly have secured a place in the promotion play-offs of the First Division of the Airtricity League, which would be a remarkable achievement for a club that the FAI want to remove from League of Ireland football next season.
To make the play-offs, fourth placed Mervue must account for Wexford Youths away and hope Longford Town or Waterford United – both of which are just a point ahead of the Galway City club on the table – do not secure a win against champions elect Athlone Town or Cobh Ramblers respectively.
Whatever the outcome of this weekend’s series of games, club captain Tom King maintains that Mervue have fought a gallant campaign and he stresses it is a season the management and players can look back at and be proud of.
To this end, King has rowed in behind his manager Johnny Glynn, who last week hit out at the FAI for their announcement mid-season that Mervue would not be awarded a licence in the League next season as the Association want an all-Galway team to compete instead.
Although recognising the need for building a fan base for League of Ireland soccer in Galway, King believes there is a place for Mervue within the structure – promotion or not – and he points to the progress the team has made in such a relatively short period of time.
“When Mervue came into the League [in 2009], John Delaney’s comments were that this was the future of the League of Ireland. Since then, Mervue have constantly produced players, like Rory Gaffney, John Mountney, Patrick Hoban and Ryan Manning this year and have got progressively better every year. And this year has been our best finish yet.
“Then, in the middle of the season to be told, ‘no, that is the end of it’! I understand some of the reasons about [establishing] the fan base but the club has gone about their business in the right way and they are being unfairly punished. So, I would like to put a spanner in the works this weekend.”
Certainly, promotion to the Premier Division is now a distinct possibility and to achieve such a feat would, in many respects, be the stuff of fairytales. Indeed, not many gave them a ghost of a chance of finishing in the top three – or even four – at the start of the season, particularly after such influential players like Alan Murphy and Patrick Hoban had moved on.
“Pa Hoban was the big one. When you see how well he has done [at Dundalk]. He has made the step up and he is a good player. There are a lot of good players still in the squad and, you know, I would feel most of our team could play at a higher level.
“I suppose, though, we lacked that bit of experience, especially without Alan, and, to be honest, that has what has probably cost us the League. If we had one or two players like Alan Murphy, I feel that title was there for the taking. We won’t be dwelling on that until the post mortems begin at the end of the season. We still have a game to win on Saturday night.”
At one point early in the season, Mervue sat at the top of the table much to the dismay of the pundits but King reiterates that when they set out on the road in 2013, winning the League was their primary objective. After all, why aim any lower?
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
THE dramatic finale at the Sportsground on Saturday ought to have made the RTE Six One News sporting headlines, but there wasn’t a mention of Connacht’s extraordinary late heroics against Gloucester which keeps the province’s hopes of reaching the European Champions Cup quarter-finals alive.
Instead, the rugby spotlight was on Munster’s away defeat to champions Saracens. Later during the sports segment on the Six One News, Connacht’s never-say-die comeback was relegated to the last match of the Champions Cup wrap up. RTE, in their wisdom, believed that Munster’s 15-6 loss and Leinster’s routing of a makeshift Northampton on the same day were somehow more meritorious.
If Leinster or Munster had achieved what Connacht did in the latest round of European pool matches, can you imagine how gushing RTE’s coverage would have been? When a Tipperary man with a strong GAA background starts taking offence over Connacht not getting the coverage they are entitled to, it does give an insight into why rugby in the West feels hard done by in terms of national acclaim.
For all that, last Saturday was another thumping experience on College Road. With their European Championship knock-out ambitions on the line, it was victory or bust for Caolin Blade and company. But when Connacht trailed by 24-13 with less than six minutes remaining, it was impossible to see how they could salvage a result.
A pragmatic Gloucester already had the four-try bonus point in the bag. They may have trailed 10-7 at the break having faced the elements, but tries from Mark Atkinson (two) and captain Lewis Ludlow turned the game on its head. Connacht were remaining competitive but the breaks were going the way of a team they had never previously beaten.
The home fans in the crowd of 6,800 were understandably resigned to the worst. The yellow carding of Ludlow for a deliberate knock on meant Gloucester were reduced to 14 for the closing minutes, but nobody at the Sportsground thought much of it. Connacht were 11 points behind with time running out. They needed a miracle.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
MICHEÁL Donoghue faces the biggest challenge of his management career so far after Galway’s latest subdued display of 2019 at Pearse Stadium last Sunday. A lot of the same personnel are still there from the team’s magnificent All-Ireland triumph of two years, but the form of a number of influential players has nose-dived since last September’s championship loss to Limerick.
After a late collapse against Waterford in the National League quarter-final, Galway had some questions to answer ahead of their Leinster campaign and not withstanding their significant injury problems over the past few months, the Tribesmen’s stock has continued to decline judging by this month’s displays against both Carlow and Wexford.
Though it’s far from a full-blown crisis and we must keep a sense of perspective, there’s no point being wise after the event. On the evidence of what have seen to date this summer, Galway are dicing with an unexpected premature exit from the championship unless the squad can rediscover the hunger, intensity and quality which characterised many of their performances in 2017.
The continued absence of Joe Canning – and it is a mighty blow – can’t explain everything. Sure, Daithí Burke, Joseph Cooney, Jonathan Glynn, Adrian Tuohey and John Hanbury, an important introduction against Wexford, remain short of competitive action, but as a package, Galway should still be better than this.
Failing to find the net against either Carlow or Wexford, together with the lack of fluency and sharpness, has some local alarm bells ringing, leaving the team management with plenty to ponder on ahead of Sunday week’s big collision with Kilkenny. Lose that and Galway’s season will hang on getting a result at Parnell Park – an unforgiving venue at the best of times.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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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.
Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon
WHAT was meant to be a few minutes of soundbite ahead of St. Thomas’ All-Ireland senior club hurling semi-final clash against Cushendall on Saturday has metamorphosed into a full-scale Talking Sport interview. Simply, because, Claude Geoghegan is an interesting guy.
For the past decade, Geoghegan has been the man behind the scenes and in his own inimitable way he has contributed just as much to St. Thomas’s success story as anybody else in Kilchreest and Peterswell. Perhaps, even more so.
As club secretary, he presided over St. Thomas’ historic county and All-Ireland club victories in the 2012/2013 season while, in the past three years, he has served as selector under managers John Burke and Kevin Lally, winning a county senior crown with each in 2016 and 2018 respectively. It is a proud record.
“I have held a few positions alright over the best part of a decade now — four or five years as secretary — and this is my third year involved now with the senior team. It is a way of life, I suppose, more than anything else,” begins the 31-year-old.
“When you are from a rural locality, it is what you are brought up with. It is what you know. If I wasn’t involved in the club in some capacity, I would feel I had a bit too much spare time on my hands. I would feel a bit odd without it, being honest.”
A history teacher at Presentation College, Athenry, Geoghegan explains his family are steeped in GAA tradition. His father Seamus hurled with the club before managing the intermediate team, as it was back then, while his older brother James has also done his duty as club secretary.
“Also, when the club amalgamated in 1968, my father was on the U14 team that won the county championship that year. We actually haven’t won the ‘A’ championship at U14 since. We have won plenty, but not that.”
Indeed, three SHC county titles in the last seven years would suggest that St. Thomas’ is a very special club but Geoghegan argues they are no different to any of the other clubs around. “Every other club is putting in the time that we are putting in. We are not special in any way in comparison to anyone else but we are incredibly fortunate to have a special group of players who have come together at one time.”
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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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