Inside Track
Hurlers must raise intensity levels for big Banner battle
THE big question ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling quarter-final against Clare in Thurles is do Galway have the stomach and temperament to recover from their unexpected mauling by Dublin in the Leinster final earlier in the month? They have been talking the talk since that disappointing result, but now the players have to walk the walk in this all or nothing battle.
Regardless of what players the team management pick and in what positions they are lined out, Galway will be vulnerable to their youthful neighbours if a major increase in intensity and work-rate isn’t forthcoming compared to their tame performance against Dublin. The bottom line is that last year’s All-Ireland finalists are going to have seriously roll up their sleeves to save their season. Semple Stadium will be no place for slackers.
The fact that Galway have beaten Clare by ten and 17 points in their most recent championship clashes is arguably more of a hindrance than a help to Anthony Cunningham’s men in the build up to Sunday’s quarter-final. Galway tend to view themselves as superior to their Munster rivals, but the counties’ head to head championships meetings shows Clare holding a decisive 8-4 advantage – a big pre-match health warning for the Tribesmen and their supporters if ever there was one.
Considerable surgery is anticipated to the Galway team and there is a general expectation that Aidan Harte, Andy Smith, Damien Hayes and Jonathan Glynn, who were all introduced in the Leinster final, will be in the trenches from the throw in this time, while Niall Donohue must also be in line for a recall to a defence which was ripped apart by Dublin. The pressure is on the management to make the right calls in relation to personnel and the positioning of the players.
Surely David Buke is best served by a midfield role; wouldn’t Smith bring some cutting edge to the half-forward line; and isn’t Johnny Coen’s natural pace wasted by his continued deployment in the full back line. There is also a burden on the likes of David Collins, Kevin Hynes, Fergal Moore, Iarla Tannian, Niall Burke and Cyril Donnellan to regain the verve of last summer, but one can imagine no circumstances in which all six of these players will start on Sunday.
Another puzzle is where has Tony Og Regan gone? I appreciate he is vulnerable when dragged away from the centre, but the Rahoon man had a really solid championship campaign last year until Henry Shefflin switched out to the forty in the second-half of the drawn All-Ireland final. Galway simply have to get the formation of their backline right for these Clare forwards are lively if horrendously wasteful at times.
Overall, it would be hugely disappointing if Galway don’t deliver a positive response to their Leinster final capitulation. These players are genuine, have no shortage of pride in the maroon jersey, but they are going to have to get down and dirty against Clare. Talent is not the issue, but rather their ability to tough it out in matches when the tide is swinging against them. They tend to be better from the front and are vulnerable to losing their way when falling behind early on, making a good start critical at Semple Stadium.
Mind you, Clare are not without their problems too even if there are tentative signs that Davy Fitzgerald is gradually releasing them from their tactical straitjacket. They finished strongly to take care of Waterford in the Munster championship, but subsequently were a major disappointment against Cork when the spurning of several goal chances crucified them. In all their matches, they are creating a phenomenal amount of scoring opportunities, but the conversion rate is simply not good enough at this level.
Even against a poor Wexford outfit in their second game in the qualifiers, they hit 20 wides and they carelessly allowed Liam Dunne’s men to snatch a draw in the end. Clare, to their credit, did cut loose in extra time with substitute Cathal McInerney grabbing a brace of goals and roving centre forward, Tony Kelly, showing a return to form, but their finishing remains a huge area of concern, although the day they do eventually get it right, God help their opposition.
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.
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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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