Inside Track
In the dark about what the Galway team might deliver
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IT would take a smart man to predict with any certainty what to expect from Galway hurlers in Sunday’s Leinster championship quarter-final at Croke Park. Notoriously unreliable and inconsistent, the Tribesmen will be heading to GAA headquarters on the back of a disappointing National League campaign and little supporter confidence behind them.
Occasionally in the past, such a background has been no hindrance to Galway producing a swashbuckling performance, but with some untimely injuries also hampering their preparations, even team manager Anthony Cunningham can’t be sure what his charges will be capable of against a Dublin outfit which has shown significant signs of rejuvenation in 2015.
Little did we know that when Galway drew with Kilkenny in the 2012 All-Ireland final that Laois would be the only team to be beaten by them in the championship over the intervening period – and both of those victories were not without some shaky moments. It represents a spectacular fall in the space of little more than two and a half years and even the bookmakers, who have traditionally erred on the side of caution when pricing up Galway’s summer odds, have them outsiders against the Dubs.
Historically, there is no comfort to be drawn either from the teams’ previous five championship clashes, including the 2011 Leinster semi-final and the 2013 provincial decider, as Galway have yet to overcome Dublin, a surprising scenario but then the men in maroon have also never got the better of Waterford – two counties well down the All-Ireland hurling roll of honour. When it comes to Galway, the usual parameters do not apply.
The last time we saw them in championship action at bogey venue Thurles, Galway fans departed Semple Stadium in a state of utter bewilderment and dejection last July. With 20 minutes remaining, the Tribesmen led by six points but ended up being beaten by nine as Tipperary registered 2-10 in that period to a lone point in reply. Such a collapse had to be seen to be believed as Galway simply wilted when the pressure came on.
Nothing happened in this year’s National League to suggest that they have recovered mentally from that ignominious championship exit, losing three of their five outings and just avoiding a relegation play-off. In mitigation, Cunningham never had access to a full strength team and he won’t have on Sunday either as the unrelated Burkes: Niall, David and Daithi, are all sidelined as is Conor Cooney, arguably their best player in 2014.
Furthermore, Joe Canning is battling against a nasty hand injury which required 15 stitches after a recent challenge outing against Clare. The Portumna man is expected to play, but the injury is in a tender place between his fingers and could potentially restrict his influence. On the plus side, Cyril Donnellan has recovered from a protracted groin injury and his energy alone will be welcome in the open confines of Croke Park as Galway look set to unveil a new central defensive partnership in debutant John Hanbury and Iarla Tannian.
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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