Full back Donoghue sidelined for Galway U-21s semis clash

KILNADEEMA/Leitrim full-back Darragh O’Donoghue is out of Galway U-21s All-Ireland semi-final clash against Munster champions Limerick at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Saturday (6pm).

O’Donoghue was forced to retire with a hamstring injury from the Tribesmen’s All-Ireland intermediate hurling final victory over Cork a fortnight ago and his unavailability will certainly impact on Galway’s chances in this one.

For while Galway are not short of options from eight to 15, they do not enjoy the same strength and depth in terms of personnel at the back. They could well be stretched. That said, captain Paul Killeen, Barry Keane and Shane Cooney have seen inter-county action between senior or intermediate this year.

In addition, the likes of Declan Cronin and Sean Sweeney are others on the fringes who have the capacity to step up. If need be, Eanna Burke could also be an option as he did line out at corner back for the Galway minors in 2012.

Again though, Donoghue will be a loss. “Darragh had been playing particularly well in the intermediate run,” acknowledges manager Johnny Kelly, “but, unfortunately, he picked up his injury just before half-time in the intermediate final. I suppose, Barry Keane came on and did a good job for us that day.”

Further up the park, Kelly and his management team of Tony Keady, Keith Carr and Liam Donoghue have no such issues, given the majority of the likely stand-out contributors come from their attack. These include Galway seniors Cathal Mannion, Jason Flynn and Conor Whelan.

With Daniel Nevin, Brian Molloy, Eanna Burke and Éamon Brannigan impressing for the county’s intermediates in their successful All-Ireland campaign, they, along with the seniors, will be the frontrunners to line out in the Galway attack on Saturday, although Ronan O’Meara, Jamie Ryan, Michael Mullins and Jason Kennedy have also submitted strong cases for inclusion.

From that intermediate triumph, Tommy Larkins midfielder Kevin McHugo was hugely impressive and a likely partner for him in this sector would be St. Thomas’ Eanna Burke, who lined out in the half-forward line for the intermediates, or Daniel Nevin. The nod may just go to the latter.

“The intermediate was a really good help to us,” says Kelly. “The fact we got three good games, it gave the players championship experience and that is what we are always looking for. The big thing was that we came in the same time as Kilkenny in the championship and that we would be on a level playing field.

“So, the three games would have helped our guys greatly, along with the experience of the seniors. That said, Tuesday was the first time we had the full panel, owing to the fact that Galway (seniors) have been very successful this year. Hopefully we get the blend right and go ahead and win on Saturday.”

As for Limerick, they come into Saturday’s semi-final on the back of victories over Tipperary and Clare in the Munster semi-final and final respectively. Both games were thrillers, with six goals netted in the first and, remarkably, none in the other.

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