Sports
Walsh is braced for difficult away fixture against Down
THE Weather Gods conspired against Galway last Sunday forcing the cancellation of their Tuam league tie against Laois and now Kevin Walsh’s side will travel north this weekend, a little on the rusty side for their clash with Down.
Galway would have preferred to be heading to Newry (Sunday, 2pm) with a third game under their belts and it will now be a full four weeks since their last league tie against Westmeath in Mullingar.
A heavy snowfall on Sunday morning jettisoned the Laois match while by that stage, Down had secured their second win of the league campaign against Cavan at Breffni Park on Saturday night.
By all accounts, Down’s 1-9 to 0-8 win over Cavan under the lights, was not a thing of beauty, with the losers reduced to 14 men in the last quarter following the dismissal of Ronan Flanagan.
A counter-attacking goal from Donal O’Hare in the last seven minutes swung the match Down’s way, but the win will be a boost to their confidence as they embark on something of a revenge mission for their defeat last year in Tuam.
This time last year, Galway recorded their first win of the league campaign against Down in Tuam Stadium (1-12 to 0-8), after having endured a pretty awful start to their Division 2 campaign.
That success helped Galway to survival in Division 2, but this year, after a far healthier start to their campaign, they will be hoping to chalk up an away success against Jim McCorry’s charges.
Last year’s seven point win over Down in Tuam was slightly flattering with Danny Cummins snatching a late goal while the northern side also missed a truck load of chances.
Galway’s long term injury news continues to cause concern with Colin Forde the latest casualty. The Killererin clubman has been diagnosed with a damaged cruciate that will keep him out of the game for the rest of the year.
Tom Flynn’s knee cartilage problem has had surgery treatment, and while the overall prognosis for the Summer is quite positive, it seems certain that the Athenry midfielder will miss the rest of the league campaign.
Also out for the coming couple of months at least is Oughterard forward Martin Coady who has suffered a dislocated shoulder but on a more positive note, Paul Conroy is back in full training and pushing for a return to action as is his St. James’ clubmate, Johnny Duane.
Annaghdown’s Damien Comer has also fully recovered from the finger fracture he suffered while hurling with Annaghdown and now fills the gap left by the injury to Tom Flynn.
Galway manager Kevin Walsh said that while the recent injury news on Tom Flynn, Colin Forde and Martin Coady was a real setback, the side just had to knuckle down to the task facing them on Sunday.
“We were really looking forward to the Laois match on Sunday and it was a real disappointment to us that the game had to be called off.
“That match against Laois, would have set us up nicely for the trip to Newry, but things like that are outside our control, and we just have to focus in on the task ahead of us on Sunday,” said Walsh.
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
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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