Footballers run off their feet

Date Published: 13-Apr-2010

Derry 2-13

Galway 1-12

Frank Farragher

SALTHILL in the sun has down through the years enjoyed a reputation of warm hospitality for visitors but the Galway footballers went a bit too far with the old custom during the first half of this National League tie at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

Galway poured out the jug of cordial with a decency which Derry could hardly grasp as they raced through the home defence like a gang of sixth classers taking on the senior infants in the school pitch.

Seven games on in the league with six points in the bag and safety guaranteed might seem to represent a half reasonable return for Galway, but the reality is that Joe Kernan is still searching desperately for any level of consistency and for a settled team.

What is also worrying for Galway is their leaden footed opening quarter to their last two games. Against Dublin and Derry in the first 15 minutes, Galway players seemed ‘stuck to the ground’ — maybe as the emphasis on training switches more to pace and agility for the summer, this will improve.

It certainly has to, if Galway are to avoid being over-ran in the opening exchanges of matches.Last Sunday, nature smiled benignly on Pearse Stadium with warm sunshine bathing the greening pitch but the hint of summer championship days to come left the 800 or so Galway fans in a pensive mood, to put it diplomatically.

Derry ran hard and fast at the Galway defence from the early stages of this match and before 15 minutes had elapsed, they had struck the jackpot twice when Sean Leo McGoldrick and Declan Mullen knifed through for two goals.

On a few more occasions, the Derry forwards were on clear runs towards goal only to be pulled back on the handpass stipulation but 10 minutes before half-time the Ulster side had raced into what turned out to be an unassailable 2-6 to 0-3 lead.

Quite simply they had ran through the Galway defence almost unopposed.Good work by Joe Bergin and Gary Sice set up Gary O’Donnell for a close range goal eight minutes before half-time which opened up a little window of hope, although Derry finished the half very strongly to lead 2-9 to 1-4 at the interval. Joe Kernan had opted to introduce Tomás Fahy and Paul Conroy for Donal O’Neill and Conor Healy but there were close on a half dozen Galway players who could have received that ‘curly finger’ signal during the first half.