Heartless hurlers crushed

Date Published: {J}

Waterford 2-23

Galway 2-13

CIARAN TIERNEY at Semple Stadium

BEING here before does not make it any easier. The Galway team with no heart, no passion, no leaders – as has been claimed so often in recent times – are out of the hurling championship before Race Week for the sixth consecutive season after a bitterly disappointing drubbing by beaten Munster finalists Waterford at Semple Stadium on Sunday.

For the third year in a row, hopes have been dashed at the quarter-final stage and betting slips are being torn up before the first horse even takes to the parade ring at Ballybrit. Only this time there was no need for post-mortems into what might have been, so devoid of spirit was the performance and comprehensive the defeat.

In the previous two years, the men in maroon have been beaten at this stage by just one point. There were recrimations and regrets. On Sunday, though, there was only resignation and despair among the supporters leaving Thurles. No arguing with a ten point defeat, incredible as it seemed against a team which had suffered a 21 point annihilation by Tipperary last time out.

The history books now show that Waterford have a 10-0 championship record against the Tribesmen, adding to the widely held belief that the men in maroon do not have the appetite for big games. The tag of unbackable 1/3 favourites seemed to be a huge burden on Galway shoulders in Thurles as they produced a listless performance which seemed unthinkable in the wake of the wins over Cork and Clare.

Harsh reality began to sink in about five or six minutes into the second half, after Davy Fitzgerald’s men had come out and blitzed the Tribesmen with five scores in a row. All around the field individual battles were being lost by men in maroon and there was no sign of the leadership or passion required.

At half-time, Galway had only trailed by two points (1-9 to 1-7) and the game still seemed to be there for the taking. Surely, they were going to come alive at some stage. Galway followers expected their team to come out fighting and get their act together for the second half, but instead their challenge crumbled like a pack of cards.

The selectors were quick to make the changes, bringing in both Cyril Donnellan and Kevin Hynes within eight minutes of the re-start, but it seemed as though the heart had gone out of the side and they had little or no belief in their ability to win this tie. Even with 20 or 30 minutes left on the clock, and plenty of time to rescue this mission, brittle and soft Galway seemed to be heading for the exit door again.

At a time when Galway needed inspiration, all of the endeavour was coming from the Déise as Pauric Mahony fired over three frees – conceded by a Galway defence under severe pressure – along with scores from lethal full-forward Shane Walsh and a rejuvenated Eoin Kelly, who had been left out of the Munster final line-up.

By then, it was 1-14 to 1-7 and already it looked as though there was no way back for a side lacking in inspiration. It’s a damning indictment of the Tribesmen that Joe Canning was the only one of the starting forwards to find the target in the second half, the other scores coming from a Tony Og Regan ‘65’ and substitutes Barry Daly and Aiden Harte.

Of even more concern was how little pressure Galway put on rival full-back Liam Lawlor, manning a sector in which Waterford have clearly struggled this season. Canning spent much of the game further back the field and the kind of low, fast ball into the full-forward line which can cause havoc never materialised for the Tribesmen.

Instead, they just lost their way. A needless handpass led to the concession of a routine free which young Mahony gleefully slotted between the posts and, when Canning hit Galway’s first score of the second half, rampant midfielder Kevin Moran unleashed a wonderful point on the run for an instant reply at the other end.

This was some day for the Waterford half-back line, whose dominance of their sector set the foundation for a massive win. Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh and veteran Tony Browne were immense, while Kevin Moran dominated midfield. No wonder these guys are legends in their county, players who can come up with the kind of passion which Galway seem to have lacked for years.

John Mullane, fed by Mahony, took advantage of loose marking to extend Waterford’s lead and Mahony tapped over another free after corner back Fergal Moore hauled Maurice Shanahan to the ground, picking up a yellow, as the Waterford man bore down on James Skehill’s goals.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.