Sports
Donnellan delivers in terrific win for battling Pearses
Padraig Pearses 0-14
Kinvara 1-9
A display full of determination and passion helped a jubilant Padraig Pearses to maintain their senior hurling status by edging out a Kinvara side that also battled to the end in a hard fought, do-or-die relegation encounter at Kenny Park last Saturday.
While the winners and their supporters were, understandably, celebrating at the finish the result sends the border club down to the intermediate grade for 2015 and is a huge blow to Kinvara, although they have many fine players who will fight tooth and nail next year when they try to regain their place in the upper tier.
It was a sad end to the campaign for Kinvara who didn’t enjoy much good luck in the current championship, but they can have few complaints about this result even though they never threw in the towel. They launched a series of late attacks in a bid to save the day, but they found a resolute Ballymacward-Gurteen combination in no mood to surrender.
Pearses, who looked faster and fitter, made some unforced errors from time to time but made up for them with hard running and tigerish tackling that often ended in Kinvara losing possession. John Raftery had his men really fired up for this crucial clash and they never wavered in their efforts to consolidate their place in the premier grade.
Some of the losing side in contrast showed a poor first touch, shot too many wides and made several mistakes, including clearances going straight to opposing players. A lucky goal at the three-quarter stage when they were hanging on gamely gave them a real lifeline as it brought them level at a stroke, but they were unable to build on it and only scored once after that.
Pearses promptly replied with a point and later added two more. The groundwork for this win was laid in the first half when the winners had a strong wind behind them as they built a 0-10 to 0-4 lead. The six-point advantage was badly needed as Kinvara came out for the second half in determined fashion and they shot three points in as many minutes to reduce the deficit to a goal and it was very much game on at that stage. Pearses, however, weathered the storm despite only scoring a solitary point in the third quarter.
A confident start had seen Pearses grab five of the first half dozen scores with Jimmy Gelston and Tomás Flannery in accurate form before young Conor Whelan, who again emphasised his great potential, got one at the other end. Kinvara were creating chances but they were unable to break down a strong Padraig Pearses rearguard where Anthony and Tomás Kenny and Padraic Raftery were in inspired form. In front of them their half-backs Richie Lally, Damien Wynne and Kerril Hardiman were also standing firm when danger threatened.
When Adrian Bellew and Cyril Donnellan, with a delightful point from out on the wing, widened the gap it was again Conor Whelan who replied for the lads in purple and gold after collecting a Shane Kavanagh free and he then converted a 65 to make it 0-5 to 0-3 midway through the first period. At that juncture it was looking good for Ollie Bergin’s charges, given the weather conditions, but they had a disappointing second quarter.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Ollie Horgan says Galway United will need to play much better than they did last Friday if they are to take anything from their trip to early-season surprise packets Cobh Ramblers this Friday (5pm).
United set a club record by scoring nine goals in a game for the first time when thrashing league newcomers Kerry FC in Eamonn Deacy Park last Friday, but despite that jaw-dropping scoreline, Horgan wasn’t happy with how the side played and he warned that players will have to up their game in St Colman’s Park this coming St Patrick’s Day.
“Obviously we got goals, but we didn’t play particularly well. I know it sounds crazy in what I’m saying, but we got off to a very good start and I think had we not broken them down early, it would have been a completely different story.
“We didn’t keep the ball well, I actually thought we played better in Waterford [ a week earlier], and obviously against a better side we scraped through 1-0.
“I think the fact we scored a lot of goals and created a lot of chances is the positive, but we are quite realistic that we are going to a team that is up at the top of the table, away from home that is a hugely difficult place to go with what Cobh has,” said Horgan.
Horgan who was the main man in the United dugout again on Friday as John Caulfield served the final of a three-game ban for being sent-off at half-time against Finn Harps on the opening night of the season.
Horgan subsequently picked up a yellow card against Waterford; and new coach, Chris Collopy, found this way into the referee’s notebook last Friday, so that propensity for talking their way into trouble might be something United need to look at.
Not too much else has gone wrong for United so far this season, however; any niggling concern over the failure of United’s attacking payers to find the net were blown away on Friday with Ed McCarthy bagging a hat-trick, Stephen Walsh and Ibrahim Keita both scoring twice, and Francely Lomboto getting off the mark for the season as well.
It is understandable that Horgan wants to pull the handbrake on any notions of getting carried away with last Friday’s win – Kerry were embarrassingly naive, and while the win, and the manner of it, will fill United with confidence, they are making the trip south to another side high on confidence.
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.
By Pádraic Ó Ciardha
In what has been a strange and toothless-enough National Hurling League Division One overall, this meeting of Galway and Clare in Ennis might go down as one of the odder matches.
On paper, Clare were the side with a shot at making a league semi-final and Galway were the ones with nothing to play for and that’s how it played out for the first 15 minutes with the Banner racing into a commanding lead.
After that, a switch somewhere flipped and it was Galway, and not without reason it must be said, who looked like the side with something to prove.
Speaking after his side’s 1-24 to 0-22 win, Galway manager Henry Shefflin did say that his side had nothing to lose from their short trip down to Cusack Park but, perhaps more honestly, he admitted that the win was “important psychologically” for the Tribesmen.
Even if Galway do dispatch Westmeath as expected in their final league game this Sunday (Mullingar, 1.45pm), it’s a result that would have done very little to cover up the deficiencies shown by potential consecutive losses to Clare, Limerick and Cork.
The five-week gap between the end of the league campaign and the beginning of the Leinster championship should run a little smoother after Galway’s performance at the weekend, however, a showing that looked a step above what had gone before, even allowing for the seemingly disinterested opposition.
Shefflin, for his part, was happy enough with the improvement in performance levels.
“I felt [the performance against] Cork wasn’t good and we didn’t respond well to the sending-off. I thought Limerick was better, but probably still wasn’t at the level that we require,” said the manager on his side’s recent struggles. “You’re hoping then [for a response] because three in a row is a bit of a ‘what are we doing’ kind of job.”
Galway made a pretty shocking start to the game against Clare, trailing 0-8 to 0-1 early on but Shefflin didn’t seem overly concerned at that stage, suggesting that his team had put in some hard sessions in Loughgeorge in the days in the lead-up to the game.
“Lads were probably getting up to the pace of it. We trained a couple of times this week and we’re probably pushing the boat a little bit to see, with us being out of the league, if you can push things on a little bit. You don’t know what everyone else is doing, but I thought the lads dragged themselves back into it well.”
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.
Galway 3-10
Waterford 2-6
DARREN KELLY IN DUGGAN PARK
Galway made a solid start to this year’s All-Ireland minor camogie championship on Sunday as they ran out five-point winners over Waterford.
Two Alannah Fahy goals bookended the Tribesgirls’ performance while Aoibheann Barry also contributed 1-7.
The maroon and white were strong favourites and just over 60 seconds in, Galway set the tone for what looked like would be a routine opening day win for them.
Barry played the through ball, allowing Fahy get on the end for the first goal. However, the next two scores went Waterford’s way as Maggie Gostl and Alannah McNulty reduced the deficit to the minimum.
Síofra and Caoimhe Kelly set up Fahy for a Galway point on seven minutes making it 1-1 to 0-2; and a Barry free six minutes later restored the home side’s three-point cushion.
Galway had the wind but struggled to put distance between themselves and their opponents, and the spirited visitors showed this wasn’t going to be an easy outing as Eimear O’Neill’s cross into the square on 14 minutes was batted to the net by Gostl to draw the sides level.
The teams traded over the next two minutes: Abbie Massey picked out Barry for a Galway point; Niamh Halley won a Waterford free which Gostl converted.
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.
Judge to begin her address to the jury tomorrow in Portumna murder trial
Planning application to be lodged in May for Community Nursing Unit in Clifden
Mental Health event taking place tomorrow in Tuam
City council closing Salthill car parks from 5pm due to expected high tides
Closing speeches underway in Portumna murder trial
City seeks to annex Oranmore, Claregalway, Moycullen and Barna in boundary extension
Man awarded €142,000 over unprovoked attack in toilet of County Galway pub
Tech consultants open Galway hub
Woman convicted of harassing social media guru
HSE accused of ‘environmental sabotage’ after felling 200 trees in Merlin Woods
