Galway safely negotiate trip to the bronx

By Billy Coss
At Gaelic Park

A SOLID start by Galway, with business firmly taken care of in the annual transatlantic opener to the Connacht and All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in the Bronx on Sunday afternoon.
As a match, it may not have scaled any great heights but as an occasion on a baking hot afternoon in the unique surrounds of Gaelic Park, it ticked plenty of boxes as GAA in New York and beyond had its day in the sun.
Quite how much Galway learned is open to debate but a win was ultimately what they came for, and they achieved that objective with the outcome settled early into the second half once Shane Walsh galloped through the heart of New York’s defence and fired home Galway’s first goal.
Owned by neighbouring Manhattan College, Gaelic Park has been home to GAA in the Big Apple since the 1930s and the greatest day in their 15-year involvement in the Connacht SFC nearly arrived when Galway scraped through by the skin of their teeth on their last visit to the venue.

More coverage and photos in this week's edition