Inside Track
Galway need to drive on after finally stopping the rot
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IT really didn’t matter if the opposition had comprised of just a set of well known cartoon characters headed by Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck and The Pink Panther, the only issue at stake was that Galway footballers would prove equal to the challenge of halting a horrible run of defeats in the All-Ireland qualifiers at Pearse Stadium last Saturday evening.
In the end, Alan Mulholland’s men sort of staggered over the line against a badly depleted Tipperary team and though Galway’s display will have done little to appease their critics, the result was everything for Finian Hanley and company. Having been humiliated by Mayo in the Connacht championship, last Saturday evening was all about stopping the rot and they managed to achieve that fundamental aim.
Galway’s summer struggles for nearly the best part of a decade have spawned inconsistent teams which are lacking in confidence. Those traits were again evident in Pearse Stadium at the weekend but, at least, the Tribesmen had enough quality and pride in their ranks to advance to the second round of the qualifiers. Every win is important, but Galway’s victory over Tipperary was priceless in terms of squad morale and trying to kick-start some sort of a revival.
Mind you, a couple of bare statistics from the match underlined how much Galway diced with danger in front of a decent attendance of over 3,500. If you were told beforehand that they would only lead by 0-6 to 0-5 at the interval having had the backing of the wind and would also concede the last five scores of the match, you’d be forgiven for fearing the worst. Fortunately, a powerful third quarter proved enough for the home team to more than compensate.
The match itself was of no great quality, but none of that will matter to the Galway camp this week. They had to win; needed to win; and operating in that environment brings its own pressures, even against a Division Four league outfit. A point in the opening seconds from the lively Danny Cummins should have been the ideal tonic but, alarmingly, Galway wouldn’t score again for 20 minutes. Though guilty of some poor shooting, they were also struggling to cope with Tipperary’s tactic of funnelling so many players back when defending. It didn’t make for a great spectacle and, more worryingly for the home fans, the spectre of a shock result was always hanging in the air throughout the opening-half.
The manner in which raiding Tipperary players, notably wing back Brian Fox, were breaking through some flimsy tackling around the Galway half-back sector really had the alarm bells ringing and they ought to have found the net in the 20th minute when midfielder Steven O’Brien was straight through but shot too early and too high, ensuring a routine save from goalkeeper Manus Breathnach.
Just three minutes earlier, the Tipperary custodian Paul Fitzgerald had made a terrific reflex save to deny Michael Meehan at the other end, but with half-time approaching and the Munster minnows ahead by 0-5 to 0-4, the Galway supporters were becoming increasingly uneasy. Significantly, hard-working midfielder Paul Conroy subsequently landed the equaliser before Sean Armstrong (free) edged them in front for the break.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.
You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.
There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.
To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.
Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.
Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.
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.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.
All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.
In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.
Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.
In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.
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.
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