Sports
Varley turns the screw in big victory for slick Cortoon side
Cortoon Shamrocks 4-14
An Cheathrú Rua 2-8
SCORING 2-4 in any half, at any level is serious going, and Adrian Varley’s virtuoso first half display propelled Cortoon Shamrocks to an emphatic 12-point victory over An Cheathrú Rua.
Breaking into the Galway senior starting 15 this year shows the strides Varley has been making, and he is certainly one of the best club forwards in the county. As a scoring tour de force, it resembled Patrick Sweeney’s display against Killererin a few weeks ago. Whether out in front or in the air, Varley consistently won primary possession, and his Cortoon team-mates did pick him out with some fine passes in the first half.
We’ve seen senior inter-county teams revert to sending long diagonal balls to a target man at the edge of the square in 2015, and Cortoon used their superiority in this aspect of the game to counteract the players which An Cheathrú Rua dropped back.
It was the accuracy of these passes which stood out, and Cathal Mulryan sent in two excellent balls which led directly to Varley’s brace of goals. Derek Savage, David Warde and Alan Boyle also impressed with their kick passing. Savage was returning to senior championship action after missing Cortoon’s previous fixture with Leitir Móir in June, and acted as a playmaker from deep last Sunday.
Although An Cheathrú Rua did concede 4-14, a total of 2-8 is healthy going in any match. The folly of allowing NUIG still participate in the senior championship is a debate for another day, but you feel if Carraroe had been given the benefit of a competitive match a weekend prior to this fixture, then they would have fared out better.
An Cheathrú Rua started very well and did hit the back of the net twice in the opening 10 minutes, but from there on in, it was Cortoon who called all the shots. Cortoon Shamrocks took a 2-10 to 2-2 lead into the changing rooms at the end of the first half.
The county semi-final draw made at half-time pits Cortoon against either Corofin or Tuam Stars. Both teams would provide a stern examination of Cortoon’s credentials, but from beating St. Michael’s to Leitir Móir and now An Cheathrú Rua, they have been on an upward trajectory in this year’s championship.
An Alan Tierney point and two Joe Donnellan scores had eased Cortoon into an early lead before a glut of goals arrived. Similar to the Killanin-Leitir Móir game, this match began fiercely, and three majors were recorded from the 7th to 10th minutes.
Niall O Briain pulled Matthew Concannon out from the full-back position, and picked out the onrushing Maitiu O Domhnaill with a sweet pass for the first. O Domhnaill lobbed Cortoon goalie Darragh Glynn, but Mulryan hit Varley for Cortoon’s opening goal 60 seconds later. Corner-back Peadar O Conghaile then got Carraroe’s second major.
For more, read 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.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
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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.
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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