Sports
Pressure on Galway FC to beat visitors Harps and keep play-off hopes alive
WHILE the majority of the focus in local sporting circles has been on the clash in the Sportsground tonight between Connacht and Leinster, there is arguably a more important game in Eamonn Deacy Park tomorrow night when Galway FC host Finn Harps in their second last home game of the SSE Airtricity League First Division (7.45pm).
Tommy Dunne’s side go into the game five points clear of Wexford Youths in the race for the final promotion play-off spot, and with two tough away fixtures coming up against Cobh Ramblers and Shelbourne before a final-day home clash with Wexford Youths, Dunne says a win is crucial tomorrow night.
“We have to win. Well, first, we have to make sure we don’t concede, that is the most important, but if we do that, I think we have plenty about us at the other end but we are under no illusions, it will be a very tough game,” Dunne said, and with some justification.
Harps are the one side Galway FC have failed to beat in the league this season, the three meetings all ending in draws, and the fact Harps have had two games in the past four days – including a 520-mile round trip to Cork in the FAI Cup – might work against Galway FC, rather than in their favour.
Ollie Horgan’s side are tough to break down at the best of times – they have only conceded more than one goal in four of their 24 league games to date – but the fact they had a long trip down to Cork at the weekend to take on Avondale United in the Cup, followed by a replay in Finn Park on Wednesday night, means they are even less likely to adopt an open brand of football.
“I think it is fair to say they will keep it tight and try to make it a spoiling match, so we have to work harder and make it a football match – if we do that, we should be okay. We have to increase our own tempo, make sure the game is played at our pace and not theirs,” he said
Dunne has spoken previously of the need for a ‘bully’ in his side, and when it is put to him that Saturday night is the kind of game he was thinking about when he expressed that need, the manager explains his thinking.
“I don’t necessarily mean a ‘bully’ who will go after their lads, I am more thinking of someone who will get the best out of our players, who will drive them on, demand more from them. They [Harps] are out of the play-off picture, so we have to make sure we impose our will on the game – the game is more important to us than it is to them, and we have to show that,” Dunne said.
With the FAI Cup taking centre-stage last weekend, Galway FC go into tomorrow’s game on the back of a two-week break, and Dunne said that can work two ways.
“The lads are rested, but we had a bit of momentum with three wins in a row and anyway, I always prefer to be playing week-in, week-out. You can say we are rested, but on the other hand they [Harps] will have a sharpness from two competitive games in a week,” he said.
It wasn’t complete rest for his squad, as they played a training game of three 30-minute sessions against Premier Division side Limerick FC last Friday, running out 4-3 winners.
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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