Connacht Tribune
Murray’s late penalty earns United share of the spoils
Galway United 1
St Patrick’s Athletic 1
MAYBE, just maybe, this game will prove a turning point in Galway United’s season as they grabbed a last-minute equaliser on Friday night to stay in touch with the teams above them at the wrong end of the table.
Ronan Murray grabbed his fourth league goal of the season when converting from the penalty spot in the 89th minute – United’s first penalty in a staggering 72 games – to take a share of the spoils against a side that went into the weekend just one place, but four points, ahead of them in the table.
A defeat would have been disastrous for United, as it would have allowed St Pats pull further away from the three-team relegation trap-door. Instead, at the end of the weekend’s action, they made up a point on Sligo Rovers, Drogheda United, and Bohemians, and while still a worrying five points off safety, it is the psychological boost that Friday’s result should produce that could be key.
They huffed and puffed for large parts of the game, but the introduction of Gavan Holohan in the 64th minute, and Kevin Devaney ten minutes later, gave United a real lift, a more attacking edge, and the return of those players form injury could help turn the season around.
Given that United and Pat’s occupied the bottom two places in the table going into the game, it was little surprise that they created few chances in a first-half in which the visitors edged in terms of possession, but Liam Buckley’s side managed to get their noses in front just before the break.
The visitors had a goal disallowed in the 16th minute when Rory Feely was left unmarked to meet a Conan Byrne corner from the left with a powerful header. The ball ended in the net, but the assistant referee had spotted that Kurtis Byrne was standing in an offside position on the goal-line, and raised his flag.
United didn’t learn from that lesson, however, and allowed St Pats to take the lead from an exact replica of that corner-kick in the 40th minute, Feely again being left unmarked to send a bullet-like header past Winn for the opening goal.
“We are where we are because we keep conceding avoidable goals, and that was the ultimate in an avoidable goal, absolutely unforgiveable. If you watch Soccer Republic any Monday night, every team seems to have to work for the goals they score, except against us, they don’t have to work for the goal, we do something stupid.
“They are an absolutely fantastic dressing rooms of players, the talent we have is as good as anything in the league, outside Dundalk and Cork, but we are killing ourselves and making life so hard for ourselves,” Keegan said after the game.
The manager was at his angriest this season after the game, and with reason as well: United really only started to play for the last 20 minutes or so, and as Keegan said post match, if they continue to do for the next few games, then it will be too late to climb away from the relegation zone.
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
