Sports
Wegians on cusp of history as city club host Cork Con
GALWEGIANS will look to put their All Ireland League relegation blues behind them when they bid to become the first Galway and Connacht side to claim the prestigious Bateman Cup, the knockout championship comprising of the four provincial Senior Cup winners.
In defeating Ballynahinch in a nine-try semi-final thriller – the final scoreline was 35-31 – back in January, Galwegians secured only their second final appearance having lost out to Lansdowne 19-12 in the 1928/29 decider.
Indeed, only two other Galway clubs have progressed to this stage of the competition, with UCG defeated by UCC in the 1936 final and Corinthians unluckily losing out to St. Mary’s College on a try count after drawing the 1974/75 showpiece – the Centenary tournament – on a 9-9 scoreline.
In any event, Saturday’s final in their home ground of Crowley Park (12:45pm) offers Galwegians a chance to make history. It does,” acknowledges coach Matt Browne. “It is great for the club and the fact we got the home draw as well is huge for all the players and the committee.
“So, it is a big day out for the whole club, from bottom to top really. The fact that we have never won it as well is huge. It might go some way to fixing the broken hearts after relegation (from Division 1A of the AIL).”
Galwegians qualified for the final after defeating Buccaneers 27-10 before the Christmas to secure the Connacht Senior Cup for the 33rd time – UCG lead the roll of honour with 34 – before accounting for Ulster champions Ballynahinch in January.
Tries from Juan Anaya, Josh Pimm, Marty Cummins and Doron McHugh, along with the boot of Aidan Moynihan – who tallied three conversions, two penalties and a drop goal – were central to the victory.
“It was a thriller; end to end stuff. We got in a position of dominance but unfortunately, and this has happened a few times this season, we let the other team come back into it. The players dug deep in the last five or 10 minutes to keep Ballynahinch out and, thankfully, they got their just rewards.
“This was a final we would have liked to have got into the year before but it didn’t work out the way the Connacht Senior Cup went. So, we are delighted to have got there this year,” says Browne.
However, in Cork Constitution they not only face the reigning Bateman Cup champions but also the side who relegated them from the top flight of Irish club rugby on the final day of the season.
Galwegians needed just a losing bonus point to avoid the automatic drop and they looked to have done so until a wayward pass was intercepted by Cork Con centre Niall Kenneally and he raced over the whitewash to secure his team a 26-16 win. The concession of the score consigned them to Division 1B rugby next season.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
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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CITY TRIBUNE
United wary of the threat from Treaty
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.
CITY TRIBUNE
Devon crowned Women’s Connacht Cup champions
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.