Cakewalk in Croker as Tribesmen canter past title holders

Galway 1-27

Wexford 0-17

John McIntyre at Croke Park

NONE of us could be sure what would happen at Croke Park on Saturday night, but the least anticipated scenario was that the reigning Leinster hurling champions would be wiped out in their first defence of the provincial title.

In the weirdest of sporting seasons, the assumption that Wexford would be the one team which would have all the bases covered under their fanatical manager was laid bare. Instead, it was arguably their worst championship display under Davy Fitzgerald.

Wexford’s horror show on Halloween night was not down to their own failings alone. For in the other corner was a rejuvenated Galway outfit which performed with a stunning cohesiveness and sharpness given that their build up – like all the other teams – to this belated championship has been anything but normal.

You would never think it, however, looking at Galway. Making light of not having played a competitive match in over seven months, the Tribesmen were never really troubled in an unexpectedly one-sided struggle. Only in the opening quarter was this Leinster semi-final a contest. After that it was a mis-match as Galway cantered to a 13-point victory.

Displaying renewed levels of hunger and energy, the men in maroon had too much of everything for opponents who looked like a team feeling the effects of a rigorous training regime over the past four years. Wexford were surprisingly flat and struggled to get their running game going.

Galway, in contrast, were a revelation. Suffocating the middle third with bodies, they rarely allowed Wexford work the ball through the lines or create the overlaps they thrive on. Midfielder Diarmuid O’Keeffe has been central to that approach, but his lung-bursting runs were conspicuous by their absence on Saturday night.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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