Sports
St. Thomas’ make no mistake in quarter-final replay
St. Thomas’ 3-15
Loughrea 0-12
ST. Thomas’ were well on their way to winning Sunday’s afternoon’s quarter-final replay before an astonishing late scoring spree put paid to any lingering hopes an understrength Loughrea side may have had of repeating last week’s escape act, with John Burke’s men now appearing the best placed side to challenge Gort for this year’s senior hurling crown.
They are short priced favourites to see off the challenge of Craughwell in this weekend’s semi-final and if the bookmakers can be believed then they will take on last year’s winners in the decider. With David Burke in imperious form at midfield, St. Thomas’ are returning to the sort of levels that saw them sweep all before them only a couple of years ago.
There were obviously factors at play that led to this result, with Loughrea’s injury list, much like the vanquished Irish rugby team, robbing them of a raft of star performers. Had Brian Mahony, Johnny Maher, and Johnny Coen all been fully fit Loughrea would have no doubt pushed St. Thomas’ a lot closer, but the quality of St. Thomas’ performance for large spells was such that they likely would have won regardless.
Loughrea’s best efforts were unfortunately hampered by some erratic free-taking that stopped them gaining any sort of momentum and there was also a missed first half penalty which lifted St. Thomas’ spirits. The 2006 champions were playing catch up from the early stages and even though they only trailed by five entering the final quarter, it was hard to see where inspiration would come from for a fightback.
The game had gone through a scrappy eight minute spell without a score when Conor Cooney pointed a free not long into the 51st minute to make it 1-12 to 0-9. When St. Thomas’ substitute Brendan Farrell glided onto a breaking ball and drove to the net the clock had barely passed the 52 minute mark, yet unbelievably the scoreboard now showed 3-14 to 0-9.
Richie Murray had pilfered his second goal of the contest during this whirlwind spell, his sense of positioning leading him to where Eanna Burke’s shot would land when it came back off the right upright. Eanna had also added a breathtaking point of his own in the interim, with David Burke also chipping in as he intercepted a short pass before landing the most routine of his three points from play.
The result was settled in those moments, there would be no repeat of the drawn game’s high drama, and the large crowd that had come expecting fireworks began to dissipate from Kenny Park. While Loughrea rattled off a few consolatory late points, it was fitting that Bernard Burke, a dynamic presence throughout, would end the game’s scoring with a long range point.
The same player had drifted a shot wide in the first minute, and Loughrea had a quality score on the board when Gearoid Loughnane played a clever ball down the left side for Neil Keary, who skimmed down the sideline before cutting in and pointing from a difficult angle. Keary’s normally reliable radar from placed balls, though, was slightly off and a third minute effort veered right and wide.
Full report in this week’s Connacht 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.
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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.
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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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