Galway hit a new high in toppling Tipperary men

Inside Track with John McIntyre

IN the past, a Galway hurling team would not have survived the hammer blows they endured at inopportune intervals in last Sunday’s extraordinary All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. No matter what Tipperary threw at them, the men in maroon simply refused to surrender in reaching a September showdown for only the fourth time since 1993.

Against a background where they are often accused of inconsistency, lacking bottle and possessing a suspect temperament in the heat of battle, Galway silenced their critics in the most emphatic manner possible by not alone staying the course, but also holding their nerve to edge past high quality opponents in a gripping conclusion.

On a day when Galway proved their mettle under the most extreme pressure, the sport of hurling also enjoyed a renaissance occasion as Sunday’s thrilling spectacle finally lit up the 2015 championship. It was end to end stuff, fought with unrelenting intensity as a late point from Tynagh’s Shane Moloney went into Galway GAA folklore.

There were no shortage of excuses – notably Seamus Callanan’s brilliant hat trick – for the Tribesmen to have once again unveiled their perceived soft underbelly, but this was a different Galway; a team stacked with hurling artists who backed up their skill with a tremendous work ethic which left Tipperary players floundering at times.

Some of the points, for instance, those young assassins, Cathal Mannion and Jason Flynn, landed against the Munster holders were out of this world; teenager Conor Whelan continues to vindicate the team management’s judgement in throwing him in at the deep end; while David Burke, such a polished stickmen, was the top man in the midfield battleground.

On another occasion, Joe Canning would be grabbing most of the headlines and though the Galway full forward made a major impact, he no longer comes under the pressure of trying to win matches on his own. Canning, Whelan, Flynn and Mannion hit 13 points from play between them, but some of those openings were created by the zeal and industry of attacking colleagues, Jonathan Glynn and Cyril Donnellan.

Furthermore, acting captain Andy Smith ran himself into the ground, while centre back Iarla Tannian finally opened his broad shoulders when most needed in that dramatic closing quarter. In defence, Colm Callanan was outstanding between the posts, pulling off a series of great saves, with the durable Daithi Burke on the wing ensuring it was a largely frustrating semi-final for Patrick Bonner Maher.

Johnny Coen, John Hanbury, who doesn’t take any prisoners, and Aidan Harte also contributed immensely to putting the squeeze on Tipperary’s vaunted attack which only managed four points from play from their starting unit outside of Callanan’s heroics.

For  more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.