Awful Galway fail to raise a gallop

Waterford 0-20

Galway 0-12

IF the thrust of Galway’s National Hurling League campaign was to experiment in the hope of finding a winning formula for the forthcoming championship, then they may just have inadvertently blown up the lab. For this NHL quarter-final at Walsh Park was a ‘D’ for disaster.

In all, the Tribesmen used 32 players in their Spring campaign – including Walsh Cup – and yet they are still nowhere near knowing where they should be come championship. Consequently, the National League, as it turned out to be last year, has been another failed experiment for Galway hurling.

Nine points down having elected to play against a gale in the opening half, Galway looked like they might have vindicated that mystifying judgement call when hitting the first five points in the opening 10 minutes of the second period through Joe Canning (0-2, one free), Cathal Mannion (2) and Andy Smith.

With the margin down to four, 0-14 to 0-10, you’d be sure Galway would drive on to victory from there but, as they have done when in the ascendancy at numerous stages in other games in the campaign, the handbrake was not just pulled up but ripped right out of the socket.

Scoring chances were not converted, the wides were racked up – eight in the second half alone – and a litany of frees were conceded, nine to Waterford’s four after the break.

Galway became dysfunctional and the initiative reverted to the home team who hit four unanswered points midway through the half to seal the win. To the fore were centre-forward Pauric Mahony – punishing Galway ill discipline with three frees in this period and registering nine placed balls in all out of his 10-point total – and substitute Maurice Shanahan, both of whom were rousing in their endeavours.

Mahony lit up the attack from the off; Shanahan reenergised it when needed. As for Galway, ‘Plan B’ – as it continues to be – was to place the towering Jonathan Glynn on the edge of the square and hit in the long ball when they came under pressure. Waterford, though, were alive to it. The visitors did not raise a flag for a crucial 20-minute period in the second half.

Late on, Canning, who worked like a demon for most of the contest, also saw time in the inside line and he almost put in the subdued Joseph Cooney for a goal opportunity on 66 minutes but the effort was saved by Waterford keeper Ian O’Regan before Smith’s follow up was diverted out for a 65.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.