Connacht Tribune
Murray spurns late penalty to carry the day for United
Bray Wanderers 3
Galway United 3
THEIR top-flight status is still in their own hands, but Galway United missed a chance to take another step up the ladder of safety on Saturday when Ronan Murray’s 92nd minute penalty was saved by Peter Cherrie at the Carlisle Grounds on Saturday.
To be honest, a draw was probably a fair result, but when you are scrapping for your life at the foot of the table, fairness doesn’t come into the equation, and United will feel it was two points dropped on the day.
They shouldn’t focus on that this week as they prepare for what could be a defining game in the race away from relegation this Friday when they host St Patrick’s Athletic in Eamonn Deacy Park (7.45pm).
Instead, they should focus on the character they showed to twice come from behind on Saturday against a side chasing a place in Europe – though murmurings at the Carlisle Grounds on Saturday suggested Wanderers will find themselves in the First Division, and not Europe, as a club blighted by alleged betting scandals and money problems this season could be hit with a massive sanction by the FAI.
“We kept fighting, there is great character and great spirit in the team, maybe we could have nicked it, but a draw was probably a fair result,” said United assistant manager, Leo Tierney, after the game – as soon as the final whistle went, Shane Keegan jumped in a car to go to Pats game at home to Limerick, United’s next two opponents.
Despite playing into the teeth of a strong wind, it was United who dominated the early stages, finding little difficulty in getting in behind a Bray defence that had a two-man wall in front of it as protection in the shape of Mark Salmon and former United player, John Sullivan.
Rory Hale and Eoin McCormack both tested Peter Cherrie in the Bray goal in the first ten minutes, before the Tribesmen took a deserved lead in the 14th minute.
Kevin Devaney picked up possession wide on the right, and he jinked past three defenders, cut inside and then used Conor Kenna as a shield to curl the ball inside the far post past the unsighted Cherrie.
It should have set the platform for United to press home their dominance even further, but instead some poor marking handed the home side an equaliser two minutes later. Ryan Brennan won possession on the right, and he squared the ball for Jason Marks who was completely unmarked eight yards out to tap home.
As has often been the case with United this season, the goal knocked their confidence, and Bray gained more of a foothold in midfield, though without ever really threatening a United back three of Alex Byrne, Stephen Folan, and Colm Horgan who were employing a very high line.
Any bit of class was coming from United, but the wind picking up as the half wore on, quality play was at a minimum, although United did have a couple of decent sights of goal before the break.
Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
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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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
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.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
