Sports
St Thomas’ survive stern test from gritty Beagh
St. Thomas’ 0-19
Beagh 0-17
St Thomas’ may have been highly fancied to advance unchecked to the quarter-finals of the Galway senior hurling championship but they were made sweat it out all the way by a Beagh outfit that just never knew when to quit in this entertaining preliminary quarter-final in Athenry on Sunday.
Really and truly, St. Thomas could have been out the gate and heading back to the clubhouse in Castledaly by the three-quarter mark, having come from behind at half-time to outshoot Beagh by seven points to three in the 15 minutes proceeding the change of ends. They had all the momentum.
John Burke’s men, without the injured Conor Cooney (calf) and suspended Sean Skehill, continued to hold the upperhand right up to the final stages – leading 0-19 to 0-14 with six minutes remaining – only for Beagh to mount a gritty comeback by hitting three points without reply heading into added time.
The impish Padraig Landers, who spent most of the afternoon under the thumb of his man-marker Eanna Burke, hit two of those points with a converted free from Rory Gantley sandwiched in between to make it 0-19 to 0-17.
With minutes of added time still to be played, Beagh pushed for the goal that would snatch the victory and when Brendan Gantley’s men were awarded a free just over 20 metres from the Thomas’ goal following a foul on Landers, it set up the possibility of an outrageous finish to the contest.
Unfortunately for Beagh, Kevin Keehan went high with his effort and it was parried well clear of the goalmouth by Thomas’ custodian Patrick Skehill. The final whistle sounded, a small ruck ensued, order was restored, and the Peterswell/Kilchreest boys marched on to the last eight.
St. Thomas’ were worthy winners. They had dominated under the puckout in both halves and created a greater number of scoring chances but it was their indiscipline in the tackle that saw Beagh rewarded with a plethora of needless frees and Rory Gantley duly obliged by converting nine of them.
Then again, there is no better team than Beagh to turn the screw on opponents. The first prerequisite to defeating them is to out-work them; the second is keep frees to a minimum; while the third is to be able to adapt your structures, because Beagh, invariably, will ask the questions and probe for weaknesses.
To this end, manager Burke and St. Thomas’ had their work done and while some were bemused with seeing Eanna Burke and Shane Cooney in the corner back positions, James Regan back in defence, and centre-half back Darragh Burke at centre-forward, Thomas’ won this contest because they had their team set-up to do so.
That said, it wasn’t easy. Beagh, as you expect, were well organised and after 18 minutes looked to have Thomas’ in trouble as they led by double scores, 0-8 to 0-4. Points from John Moylan, Rory Gantley (free) and Jamie Diviney saw Beagh race quickly out of the blocks.
A brace of Gerald Murray frees did get St. Thomas’ off the mark and these were supplemented by efforts from lively duo David Sherry and Colin Fallon as Thomas’ secured the lead for the first time in the fixture on 10 minutes.
As noted though, the concession of frees hurt St. Thomas’ and of the five unanswered points Beagh tallied subsequently, four of those were placed balls converted by Gantley – the other was a neat effort from Jamie Diviney.
Full coverage 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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Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
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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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