Sports
NUIG basketballers complete notable Intervarsities double
NUIG’s men and women pulled off a marvellous double at the Intervarsities basketball finals which were played at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown last weekend.
NUI Galway 77
UUJ 69
The NUIG men’s team claimed their second ever ‘A’ Intervarsities title with a 77-69 win over University of Ulster in Jordanstown. They needed to fend off a strong finish from the tournament hosts, but had the firepower to win out for the first time since they hosted the competition back in 2010.
UUJ Captain Marty McDonald said: “They were physical inside. We were chasing them for the whole game. The belief was there that we could come back but we left it a bit late. My foul trouble was an issue and we missed a couple of shots we should have made. We fought hard for the whole tournament and it was a good game in the end. They deserved the win.”
NUIG were stacked with forward prowess and Maree All-Star Kenneth Hansberry wasted no time in getting his first four points of the day. Hansberry’s physicality and combination with Darryl Durham was giving the Westerners plenty of good looks inside and a 22-14 lead for the first quarter.
NUIG went 38-23 clear but their momentum seemed to stall until strong offensive rebounding from Durham gave him a three point play and a tip in. It was a frustrating opening half for University of Ulster head coach Pat O’Neill. The hosts were poor on shot selection and it was the 13 points from Ronnie Thomas and a late second quarter three pointer from Marty McDonald that gave them any hope.
Ronnie Thomas made 12 points in a row in the third, but they were interspersed with paint points from NUIG and the Galway side were 20 points clear before UUJ managed to stir things up. They opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run and successive three-pointers from McDonald left the score at 68-60 with five minutes left.
Stephen O’Brien and Padraig Burke were working hard to close down the open shooters, and though the gap closed to a two possession game with one minute left, a bounce-pass inside to Adam Hillis was just out of reach and McDonald took the early applause when he fouled out.
“Towards the end we were getting worried,” said NUIG Captain Kenneth Hansberry. “They’d brought it back to six points but we just kept working at putting the ball back inside. We’re bigger than most teams and we know how to make it work for us.”
Mike Murray had a son and a daughter on the winning Galway squads. NUIG’s Basketball Development Officer said: “It’s means a lot for the sports department in NUIG, our Athletic Director Cathy Hynes and for basketball in general locally. It’s going to be a major major boost. We can’t ask for more really.”
NUIG: D Durham (22), K Hansberry (19), S Candon (7), S O’Brien (6), P Burke (4). Substitutes: R O’Sullivan (15), R Gilson (5), J Tummon.
For more, read this week’s Galway City 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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