Accurate Flynn points way as Tribesmen coast home

Galway 2-20

Offaly 0-14

OFFALY hurlers haven’t beaten their neighbours Galway in a competitive fixture for over 15 years – how things were so different during the eighties and early nineties – and there is no prospect of that terrible run coming to an end in the short to medium term.

That was the inevitable conclusion from the latest one-sided collision between the counties as a shadow Galway team had a dozen points to spare over their spirited but limited rivals in this low-key league encounter at O’Connor Park on Sunday.

Galway probably didn’t appreciate it but their original selection of a seriously understrength team, together with a string of a late changes, was an act of mercy . . . for if they had travelled to Tullamore fully loaded, Offaly would have been beaten out the gate.

As it was, the county’s shocking decline as a hurling power was still laid bare in front of 4,000 spectators – barely 300 of them stayed on for the Division Three football clash between Offaly and Carlow – and there is absolutely no hope of a significant improvement in fortunes over the coming years.

In fact, things could get worse as if Offaly fail to defeat improving Carlow in their final Division 1B game this weekend, they won’t even be among the top 12 teams in the National League in 2020. It’s a tragic state of affairs, but they simply don’t have the talent anymore to compete at this level.

True, they kept going to the finish last Sunday and there were notable individual moments from Ben Conneely, Pat Camon, substitute Shane Kinsella, Colin Egan (first-half)) and Kevin Connolly, but a string of heavy defeats has sapped morale and self-belief. They can’t even beat Midlands rivals Laois anymore.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.