Donoghue doesn’t want to rely on a second chance

There has been a notion in recent years that whenever a team meets kingpins Kilkenny in the Leinster hurling championship that a performance will be enough as there is always the backdoor and, besides, if you are to win an All-Ireland title you’ll never beat Kilkenny twice in one year. Something to that effect.

Galway would be – or would have been – one of those teams. Take last year’s Leinster final for example. Galway lost. No harm done. Indeed, then Galway manager Anthony Cunningham remarked afterwards to Cats boss Brian Cody that the Tribesmen would see them in September. They did . . . but it didn’t tour out as Galway hoped.

At any rate, the landscape for Galway hurling has changed a fair bit since then. For one, Micheál Donoghue has succeeded Cunningham, and he admits a performance or moral victory is not what his men will be chasing against their great rivals in Croke Park this Sunday. It has to be the win.

“Absolutely and I think that is very relevant,” says Donoghue, who agrees there are no guarantees Galway, whenever they end up, will meet the reigning All-Ireland champions again this year given the likes of Waterford, Clare and Tipperary are also hot on Kilkenny’s heels.

“Even discarding Leinster for a minute, Munster is really competitive. You already have Clare knocked out and they are still going to have a huge say in this championship. So, on any given day you are going to have to go for it. There are no guarantees anymore that you will meet a team like Kilkenny again.”

Donoghue believes it is not just about that either – beating Kilkenny. It is about being consistent against the top teams. That is the bar they have to reach, and hurdle.

“As I said from the first day we got in, and it is no secret, this is not me revolutionising Galway hurling. We want a Galway team that is consistent every day in its performance. We want to build a team Galway supporters are proud of.

“When Galway are progressing in the championship, we have the best supporters in the country to follow us. So, therefore, it is our job to make sure that the team is performing at a level where the supporters will want to come out and support them. Obviously, we hope they do for the Leinster final. That though is the challenge for us. That every day we are competitive.”

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