Clueless Galway suffer Leinster final drubbing

Dublin   2-25  Galway 2-13

FOR Dublin, it was a case of what was rare was wonderful as they claimed their first Leinster senior hurling title since 1961. For Galway, on the other hand, this was a tale all too familiar for the followers of the maroon and white.

Granted, losing to Dublin by 12 points – were it not for Joe Canning it could have been far more – may have been something the Tribesmen were not altogether accustomed to, but the same old failings of the past two decades or so were as prevalent as ever.

While it was not so much a failure to front up on this occasion – it was not that sort of game – it came back to an inability to win any meaningful hard ball in the middle third, particularly in the half-forward line, while the lack of spark and flair which are such trademarks of Galway hurling were, for the most part, non-existent.

In addition, Galway – again, aside from, perhaps, Johnny Coen, Shane Kavanagh, Canning and a plethora of substitutes – were rudderless and whatever game plan they had intended to bring to the Jones Road venue got left back somewhere around the toll bridge in Enfield.

In 2012, the Tribesmen looked to have it all nailed with a sharp strategy in which each and every player had a role and which, finally, nurtured a Galway style or brand of hurling that was exciting, mesmerising and, more importantly, was winning games and had teams, including the great Kilkenny, running for cover.

Galway were successful with that because, from the off, they imposed their game on the opposition but, on Sunday, they let Dublin gain a foothold early on and, consequently, they paid a heavy price.

Indeed, once full-forward Paul Ryan netted the victors first goal on 26 minutes, to put Anthony Daly’s men 1-11 to 0-5 ahead, it was difficult to see a way back for a Galway side that looked a pale shadow of the team that had claimed this title 12 months earlier.

So, what has happened in the space of a year? Have Galway really regressed that much or is it a case that there is a bigger picture here? That they didn’t want to show their full hand in July but rather hold tight until the Autumn.

A recent marathon training session in Pearse Stadium would certainly support such a view because, in the short term, it was difficult to envisage an extended work-out like that, especially after a hard weekend of club championship fixtures, reaping short term dividends so the hope must be that this was time banked for the All-Ireland series. Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.