The Macron Galway Cup - Day 3 Round-up

Day Three saw the sun continue to beat down upon the players and spectators at the Drom pitches as exciting semi-finals saw plenty of goals, lots of penalties and the stark contrast between triumph and despair.

In the opening matches of the day, the last games in the 2002 Elite groups kicked off with the sun still shining on from yesterday. There were big wins for Mayo, Kerry and the North Eastern Counties while Kildare and Northern Ireland played out a nil-all stalemate in front of the spectators on Pitch 3.

The next round of games saw the 1998 Boys teams play with Salthill Devon earning their third draw in four games as they drew 1-1 in Longford while it was three straight losses for Galway Hibernian as Foyle Harps put four past them. In the 2000 Boys Plate semi-finals, Ipswich Town overcame a tough Galway side by two goals to nil while an excellent freekick opened the scoring for Finn Harps as they went on to win 2-1 against Limerick based side Aisling Annacotty.

The 11.50am matches saw our first penalty shoot-out of the day as Kerry and Cavan/Monaghan drew 0-0 in the 2000 Boys Cup Semi-Final while in the Bowl Semi-Final, Wicklow and St Malachy’s were all tied up at one-all. Wicklow’s captain started off the penalties by scoring the first one but later St Malachy’s goalkeeper saved Wicklow’s third and fifth spot-kicks to see his team through 4-3 on penalties. They’ll meet Salthill Devon in the Bowl Final tomorrow after the Galway club won two-nil against Avenue United.

Kerry’s penalty shoot-out was much tenser and longer as Cavan/Monaghan recovered from missing their first two penalties to draw level on three-all after five spot kicks. Number six and seven were slotted in well by both teams but Cavan/Monaghan’s eighth grazed the crossbar as Kerry won 6-5 on penalties. A penalty decided another game too, with Edenderry scoring their own one to beat Roscommon 1-0.

In the 1pm kick-offs, the Colorado Rapids earned a tough one-nil win over Colga to make it to the 2002 Boys Cup Final and they’ll be facing Belvedere there after they dispatched Kerry by three goals to nil. The Bowl Semi-Finals saw Athlone race into a 4-1 lead before Salthill netted two late goals while Clare were the victors as they beat Roscommon 3-1.

It was then heartbreak for Kyoto in the next round of games as, after a one-all draw during normal time, Ballymoor triumphed 4-3 on penalties.  The Japanese side will be facing Salthill Devon’s 2001 side as Mervue United emerged two-nil victors in the local derby. In the other games, Kildrum Tigers beat North Tipperary 5-1 while Carlow edged out Galway by scoring once without reply.

In the 2002 Elite Boys Shield Qualifiers, Salthill Devon got past Carlow due to a 2-1 victory while West Waterford-East Cork beat North Tipperary by two goals to nil. In the Plate Semi-Finals in the same age group, the NDSL won a close encounter with the NEC side by a scoreline of two goals to one. Athlone also beat Cavan/Monaghan 2-0 in the other semi-final.

In the last four Elite Boys Semi-Finals, Belvedere put five past Kerry while Donegal defended well to earn a 1-1 draw with Leeds United. In the penalties that followed, it looked like Donegal would win after Leeds missed their third spotkick but the Leeds netminder made two great saves for Donegal’s fifth and sixth penalty to see them through to the final of the Cup. Meanwhile on Pitch 2, Roscommon beat Galway 1-0 while Mayo scored twice without reply against Kildare on Pitch 1.

In the last round of games for the day, the last group games of the 1998 Boys were played as Longford did enough against Galway Hibernian to see them through to the Plate Final while Manulla and Foyle Harps will contest the Cup Final.

2002 ELITE BOYS

North Tipperary 0-4 Mayo

NEC 3-0 Clare

Kildare 0-0 Northern Ireland

Kerry 5-1 Carlow

2002 ELITE CUP SEMI-FINALS

Kerry 0-5 Belvedere

Leeds United 1-1 Donegal (Leeds won 5-4 on penalties)

2002 ELITE PLATE SEMI-FINALS

Athlone 2-0 Cavan/Monaghan

NEC 1-2 NDSL

2002 ELITE BOWL SEMI-FINALS

Kildare 0-2 Mayo

Roscommon 1-0 Galway

2002 ELITE SHIELD QUALIFIERS

Carlow 1-2 SDFC

North Tipperary 0-2 WWEC

2002 BOYS CUP SEMI-FINALS

Colga 0-1 Colorado Rapids

Belvedere 3-0 Kerry

2002 BOYS PLATE SEMI-FINALS

North Tipperary 1-5 Kildrum Tigers

Galway 0-1 Carlow

2002 BOYS BOWL SEMI-FINALS

Roscommon 1-3 Clare

Athlone 4-3 SDFC 03

2000 BOYS CUP SEMI-FINALS

Edenderry 1-0 Roscommon

Kerry 0-0 Cavan/Monaghan (6-5 to Kerry on penalties)

2000 BOYS PLATE SEMI-FINALS

Ipswich 2-0 Galway

Finn Harps 2-1 Aisling Annacotty

2000 BOYS BOWL SEMI-FINALS

SDFC 00 2-0 Avenue United

Wicklow 1-1 St Malachy’s (4-2 to St Malachy’s on penalties)

2000 BOYS SHIELD SEMI-FINALS

Kyoto 1-1 Ballymoor (4-3 to Ballymoor on penalties)

SDFC 01 0-2 Mervue United

1998 BOYS

SDFC 1-1 Longford Town

Foyle Harps 4-0 Galway Hibernian

Galway Hibernian 0-2 Longford Town

Foyle Harps 4-0 Manulla