Sports
The floodgates open but no sinking feeling for Connacht
Newport Dragons 25
Connacht 30
JOHN Muldoon led his side to the dressing room in Rodney Parade on Sunday evening, he and every last player with him were sodden from head to toe but hardly even noticing.
The five point win came at the end of a battle on a aqua playing surface, which included three tries apiece, and a colossal effort from the 14 man Dragons team being matched, and slightly surpassed, by a resilient and defiant display from the visitors.
The victory marked an eighth Pro12 win on the season to equal their 2003/04 record, with seven games still to play. Pat Lam’s side are just two points shy of a new points record as well, with Treviso in town on Sunday shorn of their Italian internationals and facing a technically efficient, clued in home side that are not short on self belief right now.
From 10am on Sunday the east Wales town of Newport was enveloped with monsoon like rain and the conditions seemed set to play a pivotal role in the afternoon contest, but the game’s defining element actually stemmed from one moment of madness in the 14th minute where home captain Rynard Landman hit Jack Carty late in the tackle, leading with the elbow and making contact.
The red card came after a video review and set the tone for the remainder of the game. Connacht had dominated the early exchanges with Craig Ronaldson’s try underlining their intent, a thundering line off a Jack Carty pass proved key for the Naas man to score and helped his side into an early lead. It was 10-3 when Landman saw red and the lead stretched out to 17-3 before the balance shifted towards the home side.
From there to the end, this was a topsy turvy contest, with Connacht always holding the edge. A 17-11 half time lead stretched out to 23-11 before a converted try from the home side set up a tense finish.
However when Mick Kearney chased down a blocked clearance to score try number three, the game was up for the home side who nabbed a late consolation score with the last play.
We’ve known this for a while, but we haven’t really fully grasped it until this season. Getting into the top half of the Pro12 and staying there with a squad and budget like Connacht work off is extremely hard work and we are only now really getting a feel for this fact. You had to get to this stage to experience.
This was a third away win of the season in the Pro12, a fifth in all competitions and each one has been chiseled out with bare hands. Every minute, every tackle and every scrum has been a merciless contest. Yellow cards, sumptuous passes, clever footwork, lucky bounces, grubber kicks and tap tackles have added up. It has been a hard slog and this game was the epitome of such a slog.
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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