Cooneys cut loose against gallant Wexford

Galway 0-29
Wexford 1-17

HAS the time come to let the handbrake off and just accept at face value what we are seeing with our own eyes? So many false dawns and big-day championship failures over the past three decades have framed our thinking since the glory days of the eighties, but 2017 is already proving a milestone season for the Galway hurlers.
National League, and now Leinster champions, the Tribesmen stand just two matches away from a clean sweep of major titles, and trying to preach caution and attempting to qualify their achievements so far is only remaining a slave to the type of doubt and distrust which countless Galway teams admittedly left as their legacy.
Nothing happened at Croke Park last Sunday before a record-breaking crowd of over 60,000 for a Leinster Final to shake our belief that Galway remain in pole position to be crowned All-Ireland champions in September. Their consistent high-quality displays brook no argument and the ruthless manner in which they are going about their business is actually unnerving the other main contenders.
Galway are no longer playing in fits and starts, leaving opposition teams hanging on or showing any sign of mental frailties as they continue to blitz their way through the defining period of the year, winning the team’s last five ‘knock-out’ matches by an average of 13 points.
In successive games, Limerick, Tipperay, Dublin, Offaly and, now, Wexford have all been submerged by the maroon tidal wave as Galway’s impressive mix of innate skill, physicality, experience and hunger is proving almost impossible to counteract. Wexford were more competitive than any of the others, but we still knew the result ten minutes into the second half.
Another almost complete team performance saw Galway claim only their second Leinster title from nine years of participation in the province. They were hot favourites to do so and though it understandably took them some time to work around Wexford’s sweeper system, together with the energy of Davy Fitzgerald’s charges, there was no sense of on-field panic when they fell 0-9 to 0-7 behind after 22 minutes.
In fact, it was what Galway needed; to be asked questions of rather than almost coasting through the exchanges from start to finish. The response was heartening as the Westerners reeled off seven of the next nine points to lead by 0-14 to 0-11 at the break. Wexford were giving it their best shot, tearing into tackles, picking off some great points, but were still losing.
On a day when Joe Canning, David Burke and Conor Whelan were relatively subdued by their own high standards, the 2017 Leinster Final will be most remembered for the startling impact of the unrelated Cooneys, Conor and Joseph, up front.
Between them, they banged over 12 points from play with many of their scores coming at important stages. Conor Cooney, who was burying the ghosts of a couple of previously challenging days at Croke Park, was immediately into his stride – he had already raised three white flags by the 13th minute – and tormented the Wexford backs throughout the final.
Joseph Cooney also has his finest ‘hour’ in the maroon jersey. Like Conor, he is able to win his own ball and a couple of his points were simply brillliant in skill and execution. The Cooneys were Galway’s top two players, but wing back Padaraic Mannion was outstanding too in a defence where John Hanbury and Gearóid McInerney fairly silenced their doubters.

Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune.