Despair follows ‘careless’ weekend

Date Published: 28-Jul-2009

TO take liberties with a quote from Oscar Wilde, to lose one game by a point may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Well, in that context, it was a ‘careless weekend’ for the Galway footballers and hurlers after both sides were knocked out of the championship in defeats by the narrowest of margins to Donegal and Waterford.

Followers of the maroon and white in both codes left Markievicz Park and Semple Stadium in dejection after their respective defeats, the agony compounded by the realisation that Galway could – and probably should – have won both knock-out fixtures.

But Race Week is upon us and, once again, it’s left to the minor hurlers to carry the maroon flag to Croke Park as neither senior side showed the conviction, determination, or composure to close out their respective ties and make it through to the glamour August showdowns at headquarters.

The hurlers’ defeat was particularly galling, because John McIntyre’s men looked to have the beating of Waterford when they led by 16-10 with 13 minutes to go and 18-14 – after Damien Hayes scored an inspirational point – with just four minutes left on the clock.

But the Tribesmen probably did not punish the Deise enough when they were on top late in the first half or midway through the second half and then – Wham! Bang! – a couple of moments of madness turned the All-Ireland quarter-final on its head.

Three minutes to go, and late substitute Dan Shanahan collected a high ball before blazing it wide of the target. A minute later, another ball in and, after shaking off Eugene McEntee, Shanahan managed to release a hand-pass for another substitute, young Shane Walsh, to unleash the game’s only goal.

Galway were still in front, it was 1-14 to 0-18 in favour of the Tribesmen, but suddenly all the momentum was with the Munster men, with Eoin Kelly (free) and John Mullane turning the game on its head with two more scores in injury time. And Galway’s hopes faded as Joe Canning, fed by Damien Hayes, missed a last gasp chance of an equaliser which would have brought the tie into extra time right at the end.

Defeat was cruel on a Galway side who had largely outplayed (and sometimes overplayed) Waterford for most of the 70 minutes, without quite putting them away. The spirit of their more experienced rivals really shone through in the closing minutes, but this was one which Galway left behind them and it will rankle for weeks and months to come.

The trip to Sligo on Saturday evening, just six days after a one point Connacht final defeat to Mayo, proved just as frustrating for the Galway footballers as they succumbed to the intensity of a fired-up Donegal side who made up for their limitations with a workmanlike performance, epitomised by Karl Lacey’s battling display against Michael Meehan.

Time and time again, the footballers found themselves running down blind alleys,with a host of men in yellow shirts swarming around them, and their frustrations were evident in the in the dismissal of centre back Diarmuid Blake.

After showing some promise early in the League, Galway have now failed to reach the last four of the championship for eight consecutive seasons and this 0-14 to 0-13 defeat may lead to questions over the continued management of Liam Sammon, after two years at the helm; plus the futures of older players such as Padraig Joyce and Declan Meehan, who have given so much to the county’s cause since the glory days of 1998 to 2001.

But the glory days under John O’Mahony seemed like distant memories for the small band of followers who made the trek to Sligo to cheer on the men in maroon six days after Mayo had exposed their limitations, despite an unlikely late fight-back, in another one point defeat.