Roscommon Handball round-up.
60x30 Connacht finals
St. Coman's Colm Walshe won the 60x30 junior 'B' Connacht title last Sunday in his home court in Roscommon.
Walshe beat Moycullen's Jack McNeela 21-17, 21-8 in a tough encounter. Early in the first it looked like Walshe would win comfortably. The longer the game went on, the more Walshes questionable fitness came into play.
Walshe hung on in a tight finish to take the first by four points, but it looked like he would struggle in the second.
However, Walshe cruised into a 10-0 lead exhibiting his classy left corner killing and again looked like he was heading for a straight-forward win. McNeela immediately brought it back to 7-10, with Walshe looking the worse for wear.
Realising long rallies were wearing him down, Walshe started volleying the ball and killing at every opportunity and eventually pulled away to win the second on a deceiving 21-8 score-line. Walshe will face Cavan's Cian McManus in the semi-final this Sunday in St. Coman's.
Ballintubber's Danny Shaughnessy and Martin Conroy came up short in their 60x30 Golden Masters 'B' doubles Connacht final against Mayo last Saturday. The left-right combination got off to a great start in the first; not putting a foot wrong, winning 21-7. However, that was as good as it got, as they lost the two remaining games to zero.
60x30 Ladies Senior All-Ireland quarter-final
Fiona Tully was convincingly beaten in her 60x30 Senior All-Ireland quarter-final by Limerick's Martina McMahon last Saturday in Crinkle, Co. Offaly.
Tully gave McMahon quite a few problems in the first, but bit by bit the physical strength and power difference took its toll on the much smaller Roscommon girl. McMahon took the first 21-13 and really hammered home her advantage in the second, winning 21-3.
60x30 All-Ireland senior finals
Following on their widely praised co-hosting of the Onewall Nationals, St. Coman's got a further boost when it was announced they will host all 60x30 male and female Senior All-Ireland semi-finals and finals in the coming fortnight alongside both Minor finals.
This is a great honour for the renowned club and further confirmation of its high standing in the handball world.
The semi-finals will be held this Saturday 20 August and will feature such names as Robbie McCarthy, Gary McConnell, Catriona Casey and Martina McMahon.
For anyone with an interest in the game this is a great opportunity to see top-notch handball up close and personal, as from next year onwards the All-Ireland series will be held in the new state-of-the-art Croke Park complex.
