Champs Corofin and Salthill/Knocknacarra looking good for final places
A COUNTY senior football championship that has pretty much ran along expected lines so far this season reaches the semi-finals stage this weekend at Tuam Stadium with two intrig-uing contests down for decision.
Corofin, the all-conquering force in Galway club football over recent decades, are bidding for a four-in-a-row of club titles but they will face a determined Mountbellew-Moylough outfit who impressed in their replay defeat of Milltown.
While Corofin are pretty much unbackable favourites for the semi-final, and indeed also to go the whole way and win the four-timer, the other contest between Salthill-Knocknacarra and Cortoon Shamrocks is a far closer one to call.
Cortoon – a small parish with limited resources – have assembled a core of very talented footballers and will be bidding to reach only their second ever county final when they take on a Salthill side with a lot of physical power and a bit of punch in attack as well.
SUNDAY
Salthill-Knocknacarra v Cortoon Shamrocks
(Tuam Stadium, 2.30)
Salthill-Knocknacarra mightn’t exactly be the glamour team of the championship but they are extremely difficult to beat – physically powerful, well organised and carrying a few forwards who are able to pounce for goals.
They sent out a clear message of intent when defeating a fancied Caherlistrane side in the quarter-final by a 2-7 to 1-5 scoreline, helped by goals from Robert Butler and Marcus MacDonnacha, but the key message from that game was the shackles placed on the losers’ forward line by a watertight defence.
Ruaidhri McTiernan is one of the stickiest man-markers in the business while Finian Hanley and Gavin Duffy are also to the fore in a rock-solid defence. Robert Butler and Conor Healy are consistent ball winners in the midfield sector, while up front Sean Armstrong, Marcus MacDonnacha and Robert Finnerty are lively attackers.
The word from the Salthill-Knocknacarra camp this week is that they are relatively injury clear although Paul Butler (knee) and Eamon Conroy (hand) are in the doubtful category.
Cortoon Shamrocks are having another lively season and had a fair measure to spare (2-11 to 1-5) over what was a depleted Micheál Breathnach side in the quarter-final, with goals from Joseph Donnellan and Donal O’Neill sealing the deal. David Warde, who suffered a serious facial injury earlier in the season, is a big loss to them.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.