Galway kill two birds with the one stone in a grinding win over Kerry

Inside Track with John McIntyre

IT was a landmark day in more ways than one for the seriously improving Galway footballers in the opening round of the Super 8s last Sunday. A first win over Kerry in the championship since 1965 and a first big victory at Croke Park in almost 17 years needs little embellishment.

Making a mockery of their pre-match odds of 3/1, Galway achieved their biggest triumph since the All-Ireland final of 2001 with a brilliantly-executed tactical plan which helped to put the shackles on a previously free-scoring Kerry attack that had registered 32 points against Clare and 4-18 in their thrashing of Cork.

The Kingdom, this time, had to be content with a mere 11-scores against Galway and their goal only arrived in the 77th minute with virtually the last kick of a contest which admittedly may not live long in the memory of footballing purists. The Munster champions were repeatedly frustrated by the Tribesmen’s blanket defence, lacking both the energy and nous to counteract it, on a chastening afternoon for the game’s most decorated county.

Apart from David Clifford, a lot of Kerry’s younger generation were found wanting in their first big test of the summer. Hyped up after powering to the provincial title, they were untypically flat in wet conditions, leaving them facing a treacherous trip to Monaghan this weekend in trying to revive their All-Ireland hopes.

In contrast, Sunday’s 1-13 to 1-10 win has surely marked a huge turning point in the evolution of this Tribesmen squad with the promise of more to come. Despite hitting some shocking wides in a forgettable first-half and also having to deal with the trauma of seeing Paul Conroy being stretchered off with an unfortunate double leg break, Galway’s sense of purpose or focus never wavered.

Though Kerry under-performing has dominated the post-match narrative, it does scant justice to how well Galway went about their business. Sure, they again got loads of bodies behind the ball, but they were more threatening going forward, were sharper on the breaks and also performed with greater zeal as typified by corner back Eoghan Kerin.

Galway possessed the hungrier and more dynamic players too. Of course, even some of the team’s own supporters will bemoan their defensive approach, but this more conservative strategy is paying rich dividends and one can only imagine the huge boost to confidence levels Sunday’s success will have given Kevin Walsh’s charges.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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