Galway hurlers are in bad place after tame surrender to the Cats

Inside Track with John McIntyre

HAWKEYE wasn’t the only thing which malfunctioned at Croke Park last Saturday evening – so did the Galway hurlers. Just when we thought that the Tribesmen were emerging as genuine championship contenders, they took an unexpected step backwards in a Leinster Final which fell far short of expectations.

Having only been beaten once in their previous six championship encounters with Kilkenny, hopes were high that Galway would continue to have the upper hand, especially as the Cats were coming off a shock loss to Wexford in their own backyard. But they just didn’t fire in their biggest game of the year so far.

Once again, Brian Cody rang the changes for his latest encounter with Galway. Unlike most other managers, he has never placed much store on having a settled outfit. He rolls the dice on team selection when he sees fit. There was local surprise over the omissions of Padraig Walsh, Walter Walsh and Alan Murphy, with the anticipation that late changes would be made to the publicised team.

But there were no eleventh-hour alterations, and that was the surprise. In the end, Cody was vindicated as his rearranged forces brought an intensity to the battleground which Galway struggled to cope with. Kilkenny fought like terriers for everything, while there was no compromise in terms of work ethic or grit.

From early in the final, you got a sense that this was going to be a difficult evening for Galway. They lacked fluency and rhythm, and though saddled as the team ultimately best equipped to take on Limerick physically, they looked lightweight around the midfield area. Too many of their players just didn’t perform and if you took Conor Whelan out of the attack, Galway lacked forward inspiration.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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