Galway musn’t let great chance of final glory pass them by

By John McIntyre

SOME year, some Galway football team will bring Sam Maguire Cup back West again. Why can’t it be 2022?

How many of the team’s supporters – never mind neutrals – saw Galway even emerging as genuine contenders this year? In truth, they were well down the pecking order at the start of the season.

Who were ahead of them? Tyrone, Kerry, Dublin and Mayo for sure. Donegal would also have had a higher ranking, while the likes of Roscommon, Monaghan and Kildare would have been considered on a par with Galway last January.

Without an All-Ireland final appearance since the county’s last championship triumph in 2001, the team’s struggles since were underlined by a poor record in Croke Park; losing to minnows Wexford, Westmeath and Antrim in the qualifiers; and falling to Tipperary in the All-Ireland quarter-final of 2016.

Galway also flattered to deceive in last year’s Connacht final at Croke Park when a more athletic and physically powerful Mayo took control of the second-half. After two Covid-hit seasons in charge, team manager Padraic Joyce was a man under pressure last winter.

As a former great in the maroon jersey, he would have taken to heart Galway’s decline as major footballing force, especially as his own tenure hadn’t yet turned things around. He had to bite the bullet to help kick-start a revival, and the Killererin man wasn’t found wanting.

Recruiting Cian O’Neil as team coach immediately raised the stakes for the Galway players. The Kildare native is much travelled having worked with the Tipperary hurlers and Kerry footballers in the past, and he was bringing a lot of experience to his latest venture.

Joyce himself remained as demanding and driven as ever, but his persuasion became less dogmatic in nature. With Cillian McDaid finally putting his injury woes behind him, and young players like Seán Kelly, who was appointed captain, Jack Glynn, Matthew Tierney, John Daly and Rob Finnerty now more experienced, Galway were in better shape for a progressive 2022 than many outsiders would have thought.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.