Connemara Gaels 1-10 Galway 2-15
Galway burnished their championship credentials with an
impressive win over the Connemara Gaels in the battle of the west. It was neck and neck until the final quarter
when Galway pulled away with some well taken scores and a Brian Reape goal that
put the matter to bed. Galway moved the
ball well when they needed to – a hallmark of their game, while the Gaels were
frustrated by their inability to do the same when in possession.
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| Galway pulled away from the Gaels in the final 15 minutes. |
There was nothing between the teams after the first 30
minutes. Galway’s Cian McMonagle tallied
a goal and four of the Tribesmen’s goal and six points. The goal got Galway off the mark after the
Gaels had opened the game with 3 unanswered points. It was tit for tat the rest of the half. After Galway had established a one point lead
it was the Gaels turn to net.
Sean Conneely, who lined out at corner forward, was on the
end of a great move that involved four players.
Tiernan Cox opened the Gaels lead to a goal as they looked to be
establishing a footbhold, and then Galway went on a scoring flurry. McMonagle was the main man at corner forward with
three points as Galway ended the half well.
Things got a little testy coming into the break and Galway eing back Kieran
Molloy was shown a black card. At the
break it was 1-6 each.
Shortly after the restart the sides traded three points
each. McMonagle and Cummins for Galway
and O’Driscoll and Cox for the Gaels. As
Galway then pulled away the Gaels frustrations grew with every turnover. It was a contrast in fortunes as Galway
motored well at times and were on top in the possession department, while the
Gaels struggled to get any kind of traction.
Whether it was winning kickouts, or trying to move the ball forward, the
Connemara men’s efforts were a lesson in futility.
Galway opened up a 4 point lead with the game entering the
final stretch as the Tribesmen put some slick moves together. McMonagle put back to back efforts over the
bar, and a chance that fell to Kevin Cummins went over, rather than under, the
bar. With the game slipping away from
the Gaels, Galway jumped on the chance and pressed home their advantage. Two more points from McMonagle and Brian
Reape were followed by a goal, Reape the scorer. With an eight point gap and only a handful of
minutes left the game was all but over.
Galway now sitting in second place and still on track for the semis while
for the Gaels it is back to the drawing board to figure out the best way to
piece the puzzle together.
Gaels: Eoin Connolly,
David Black, Dan Donoghue, Niall McGinn, Sean Kelly, Killian Fahy, Matt
Sullivan, Dan O’Driscoll, Fergal Meenagh, Ryan Caffrey, Joe O’Shea, Tiernan
Cox, Sean Conneely. Subs: Tony Brosnan, Kevin McGrath.
Galway: James Kelly,
David Kenny, Ruairi Greene, Kieran Molloy, Dylan Murtagh, Stuart Cullen, Cian
Darcy, Alan Egan, Sam Lenihan, Eoghan Kavanagh, Ryan Forde, Kevin Cummins, Cian
McMonagle. Subs: Brian Reape, Craig Kennedy, David Murphy.
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