Macron Galway Cup 2016 - Day 1

The pouring rain and blusterous wind threatened to put a dampener on the opening day of the Macron Galway Cup yet great football shone through to make for an enthralling set of results as the sun peered out late on in the day.

The wind was playing havoc in the opening games, which showed in the 2003 Elite match between the North Eastern Counties (NEC) and Sligo/Leitrim, with the latter opening the scoring direct from a cornerkick. Sligo/Leitrim went on to add a further two goals through great attacking play to give themselves a 3-0 win.

Home side Salthill Devon racked up a 5-1 win over Roscommon in the 2003 Premier while fellow Galwegian club Mervue United put four past Cavan/Monaghan in the 2003 Elite. Carlow narrowly beat Kerry by one goal to nil with the losing side missing a penalty early on.

The NDSL and West Cork are in the same group as Mervue United in the 2003 Elite and West Cork came away with the victory in a narrow game that saw great goals from both sides as they won 2-1. The Colorado Rapids have returned to the competition after debuting last year and drew their opening match 1-1 with WWEC while Donegal scored four goals against Athlone with only one in reply. North Tipperary also scored four without reply against Roscommon in the second round of games.

The rain started to pour heavily during the next few hours as the Republic of Ireland Future Developers squad scored three goals against Kildrum Tigers, whose defensive unit prevented a heavier defeat, while the multiple Harps outfits on display had different fortunes.

Finn Harps’ 2001 Club side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sligo/Leitrim while their 2003 Premier team won 2-1 against Galway. Foyle Harps finished the 11.50am kickoffs with a close 2-1 win over Kerry.

Leeds United faced Cherry Orchard in one of two 2001 Elite fixtures during the day, with goals on the stroke of halftime and fulltime giving them the win in what was a well-balanced match from start to finish. Athlone and Carlow inflicted big defeats as they beat Tulla FC by ten and Colga by eight respectively. Galway wrapped up the 1pm kickoffs with a 4-1 win over local opponents Salthill Devon.

Kildare capped a fine performance with three goals over Clare after two o’clock while Nothern Ireland scored four against Longford in the 2003 Elite competition. In the 2001 Club games at the same time, Kerry and Nenagh played out the second draw of the day, the first scoreless fixture, while Cavan/Monaghan won a narrow match by two goals to one against Limerick DS.

In the games just past half three, Donegal put in a phenomenal performance and beat Kerry 7-1 in the 2003 Elite while the NDSL came back from their earlier loss to beat Mervue United 1-0 in a nail-biting match as both sides spurned chances. Athlone drew nil-nil with Carlow in the same competition as Mayo 04 scored four without reply against Mervue United in the 2003/04 Boys.

One of the last 2003 Elite games saw West Cork and Cavan/Monaghan battle with the former taking the one-nil win. The Republic of Ireland Development squad under Paul Osam also took on Ipswich Town in the other 2001 Elite game of the day and it once again saw English opposition run out two goal victors, despite Osam’s side having some great chances to restore parity before the second went in.

Colorado Rapids stayed undefeated as they finished off their day with a 3-0 win over Galway while WWEC had another one-all draw, this time with Finn Harps. The last two games of the day for the 2003 Premier category saw Foyle Harps run out 4-0 winners over Roscommon while Salthill Devon got another big win in beating Kerry by three goals to nil.

The 2003/04 Boys finished up the day with Galway putting six past Tulla FC while Mervue United edged out Colga in a close 3-2 victory. Mayo 04 also drew 2-2 with Carlow while Athlone beat Salthill Devon by 4 goals to one to round that category off. The last of the games saw NEC beat Kildrum Tigers by two goals to nil while Sligo/Leitrim dispatched Clare by four goals before the very last match saw Limerick DS return to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Salthill Devon. There was good officiating all round with NEC having the best chants on the buses I was on.

2001 ELITE

Leeds United 2-0 Cherry Orchard

Rep. of Ireland Development Squad 0-2 Ipswich Town

2001 CLUB

Group A

Rep. of Ireland Future Developers Squad 3-0 Kildrum Tigers

Kildrum Tigers 0-2 NECSL

Group B

Kerry 0-0 Nenagh AFC

Group C

Finn Harps 0-1 Sligo/Leitrim

Group D

Salthill Devon 0-1 Mervue United (Tuesday night fixture)

Limerick DS 1-2 Cavan/Monaghan

Salthill Devon 0-3 Limerick DS

2003 ELITE

Group A

Longford 0-4 Northern Ireland

Roscommon 0-4 North Tipperary

Group B

Carlow 1-0 Kerry

Donegal 4-1 Athlone

Athlone 0-0 Carlow

Donegal 7-1 Kerry

Group C

Sligo/Leitrim 3-0 NECSL

Kildare 3-0 Clare

Clare 0-4Sligo/Leitrim

Group D

Cavan/Monaghan 0-4 Mervue United

NDSL 1-2 West Cork

NDSL 1-0 Mervue United

West Cork 1-0 Cavan/Monaghan

2003 PREMIER

Group A

WWEC 1-1 Colorado Rapids

Galway 1-2 Finn Harps

Finn Harps 1-1 WWEC

Colorado Rapids 3-0 Galway

Group B

Roscommon 1-5 Salthill Devon

Foyle Harps 2-1 Kerry

Kerry 0-3 Salthill Devon

Foyle Harps 4-0 Roscommon

2003/04 BOYS

Group 1

Athlone 10-0 Tulla FC

Salthill Devon 1-4 Galway

Tulla FC 0-6 Galway

Salthill Devon 1-4 Athlone

Group 2

Colga 0-8 Carlow

Mayo 04 4-0 Mervue United

Mervue United 3-2 Colga

Mayo 2-2 Carlow