Sports
Walsh warns against complacency as Galway begin championship in New York
The New York starting point may be very different but the intended destination – provincial and, ultimately, national glory – is very much the same.
The Galway senior footballers’ Connacht and All-Ireland championship campaign begins in earnest this weekend at the Gaelic Grounds in the Bronx, the first step in a long road back to the top of the pile in the province where the county hasn’t reigned supreme since 2008.
Around 500 supporters are taking to the skies over the Atlantic for the Connacht championship preliminary round clash on Sunday with the Exiles (throw-in 3pm New York, 8pm Irish time).
The mass exodus of travelling fans, which includes the sold-out Lally’s Tours’ contingent, will be swelled by the large number of ex-pats living in the US, many of whom are fairly fresh off the plane, the latest wave of emigrants force to leave these shores due to the most recent recession.
It promises to be a good old-fashioned knees-up in the bright lights of the Big Apple but for the players and management, the focus is very much on the task at hand as they depart from Shannon this Thursday.
“It is not a holiday of any sort,” stressed manager Kevin Walsh this week.
“This has to be done and done properly and professionally. We’re going to be up against it out there with the surface and the heat and everything else that goes with it – the organising of the travel arrangements and all that. There are a lot of factors in the mix.
“The build-up to most matches is you train and get together on a Thursday and a Saturday. This is different anyway. In this we’re together as a group for four days so there’s a good bonding from that point of view but the big thing is not to lose focus. We’re fully focused on ourselves. There’s not much we can do about what team New York bring but from the feedback we’re getting they’ll be very organised.”
New York, who wear a red, white and blue strip, has been annihilated by visiting county teams from the province in the past few seasons, and interestingly, the last outfit to suffer a scare over there was Galway back in 2010. The only other time Galway took on New York stateside was in 2005, when Galway emerged easy winners on a 3-14 to 0-6 scoreline.
Last year Mayo gave them a 22-points clipping (4-18 to 0-8); the previous year Leitrim inflicted a 24-points defeat on them (0-7 to 4-19); the home team also suffered a 24-points defeat in 2012 to Kevin Walsh’s Sligo (0-6 to 3-21); and Roscommon gave them a 16-points beating in 2011 (1-11 to 3-21).
Galway, in May 2010, needed the brilliance of Pádraig Joyce, who scored 1-7, to drag Joe Kernan’s men out of jail against ill-disciplined New York, who were reduced to 13 men.
There was no backdoor in 2010; if Galway lost they were out of the championship, and that was such a distinct possibility that the ‘powers that be’ have since changed this rule. Nobody in their right mind believes Galway will need it but, for the record, if the unthinkable were to happen, and Galway somehow lost to the Exiles, they would be entered into the draw for the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Perish the thought.
Just three of the Galway starting side from 2010 (Finian Hanley, Gary O’Donnell and Gary Sice) remain on the current panel; in addition, Danny Cummins came on as a substitute late-on against New York, while Paul Conroy was part of the panel but didn’t make the transatlantic trip in 2010 due to third level exam commitments.
The full Galway team versus New York in 2010 was: Eoin Ó Conghaile; Kieran Fitzgerald, Finian Hanley, Alan Burke; Diarmuid Blake, Gary O’Donnell, Damien Burke; Barry Cullinane, Niall Coleman; Gary Sice, Fiachra Breathnach, Joe Bergin; Eoin Concannon, Padraic Joyce, Nicky Joyce.
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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