Big boost for Galway footballers as hurlers survive a close shave

Inside Track with John McIntyre

WITH both National League competitions starting on the same weekend, it was something of a strain to keep track of all that was happening, but the one thing the first round of the hurling league threw up was that the counties which needed to win did and those that weren’t too bothered didn’t.

Wexford, Clare, Cork and Offaly were the big winners over the weekend and it reflected well on their ambition, while both the Tipperary and Waterford camps were obviously in an indifferent mood about their respective match outcomes. Tipp, for instance, fielded a corner back and centre back at midfield, while they didn’t start the likes of John McGrath, Brendan Maher or John O’Dwyer.

After their trouncing by Galway in last year’s league final, the 2016 All-Ireland champions probably have a jaundiced view of going too far in the current competition. They were committed in Ennis last Sunday, but Clare wanted it more with a late David Reidy goal wrapping up a tonic victory for the home team. David Fitzgerald, Conor Cleary, Tony Kelly, Cathal Malone, Peter Duggan and John Conlon also put in big shifts for the Banner men.

Waterford’s decision not to introduce a single substitute in their home loss to impressive Wexford sums up their attitude towards the league. It’s an All-Ireland or nothing for them in 2018. Two smartly taken goals from David Dunne were a key factor in the visitors’ victory. Wexford appear to be building on last year’s progress and will target a big run in the league.

The big shock was Offaly’s dismantling of an admittedly callow Dublin outfit at Croke Park last Saturday evening. Sending out eight newcomers in the one game was asking for trouble and Pat Gilroy’s outfit got it. They had few answers to a lively Offaly outfit which saw the likes of Shane Kinsella and Darragh Egan among those catching the eye. With Daniel Currams and Colin Egan backs in their ranks, together with the fresh impetus provided by new manager Kevin Martin, a star of the eighties, Offaly have grounds for optimism for the first time in years.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.