Senior Football - Connemara Gaels v Galway

 Connemara Gaels 3-7 Galway 1-5

Matt Sullivan Shoots

After last week’s championship opener between 2 teams with northern connections, it was the turn of the westerners to take the field Saturday evening.  Although Galway were never far behind, it was a game where the Gaels always seemed to have the edge and in the end three late goals put the result beyond doubt.

The first half was a quiet enough affair.  Seanie Conneeley and James Garrity posted 3 points between them for the Gaels before Galway got off the mark through a John Duane point.  It was not exactly a display of marksmanship from either team in the early going as several chances fell the wrong side of the posts, and the Gaels will have had the most of those.  With Matt Sullivan and Ger Davoran in the middle of the field the Gaels held the advantage in size and in possession, but converting it from the field to the scoreboard was a struggle.

James Garrity at corner forward proved to be a spark in the game.  The Trillick native’s quickness was an issue for the Galway back line and he added another point to the Gael’s tally before the break.  John Moylan put Galway’s second over before the break and it was a 0-4 to 0-2 Gaels advantage after 30 minutes.

Ciaran Potter on the ball for Galway

Galway opened the second half the brighter of the teams and moved the ball well into dangerous areas, at times forcing the Gaels defenders into fouls.  This time it was Galway who failed to make the most of their chances, and add to their 2 point tally.  In the meantime, the Gaels started to find a groove going forward.  Garrity finished a good move for a point and shortly afterwards Michael Kerr and Garrity were involved in the best score of the day and the Gaels found the gaps in the Galway defence.

Garrity added another from a free before Aidan Nolan responded for Galway with their first score of the second half.   The score, however, was a precursor to a flurry of goals from the Gaels to finish the game as the football began to flow more freely from the Connemara side.  Callum Holland fired the ball into the net following a good move, again Garrity was involved.  Paraic Pee Wee McDonagh added another with 5 minutes to go, and before the full time whistle sounded, McDonagh added a third, rubbing a bit of salt into Galway’s wounds.  Galway found some consolation with a late Tim Prenter goal, and it finished an 8 point Gaels win.  The Gaels are sure to face a tougher test next Sunday when it is Paul Mannion and Donegal that they face in the last game of the day.  Galway also have a week to get back to the drawing board to see how they can conjure up a result against Aidan McAnespies.   

Galway:  Blaine Sheridan, Eoin Dunne, Stuart Cullen, Liam Boyle, Ciaran Potter, Pat Moylan, Danny Burke, John Duane, John Moylan, Michael Kinsella, Paddy Mullins, Mike Moylan, Greg Lundy.  Gaels:  Sean Fox, Jack Coyne, Aaron Duffy, Callum Holland, Jack Lynch, Michael Coyne, Matt Sullivan, Ger Davoran, Seanie Conneeley, Colman Mulkerrin, Mikey Kerr, AJ McGuire, James Garrity.