Inside Track
Laboured Galway just about get away with poor effort
Inside Track with John McIntyre
YOU’D just wonder did the Galway senior hurling team management take their eye off the ball in the build up to last Sunday’s Leinster semi-final against Portlaoise? Fighting an untimely and arguably ill-advised boardroom battle in relation to local fixtures just days before their championship debut smacked of a little desperation and must have, at least, proven a distraction for both the mentors and players alike.
Though the camp had been hit by some injuries, it was still surprising that Anthony Cunningham tried for a second time to have the next round of the Galway senior hurling championship deferred. Clubs had already rejected the team management’s original appeal the previous month and were unlikely to have moved their position dramatically in the interim. Naturally, there was no shortage of sympathy from officials and delegates, but the anxiety to avoid a return to the frustrating days of idle summers for club players was always going to be the over-riding concern.
Furthermore, a major plank of the extensive review of Galway hurling in the winter of 2011 was for the county championship not to be sacrificed on the altar of inter-county preparations. Had club delegates acceded to the team’s management’s request last week, the credibility of that report would have been torn to shreds. In the end, sanity prevailed despite Cunningham being backed up in Athenry last week by team mentors Mattie Kenny and Tom Helebert.
Unfortunately, injuries are part and parcel of sport. Kilkenny were without Michael Fennelly and Henry Shefflin against Offaly, while Cork have a big casualty list, headed by Paudie O’Sullivan, ahead of Sunday’s big test against Clare. Both counties have taken those blows on the chin and so should have Galway. Everybody with an interest in hurling in the county was more focused early last week on what was going to happen with the local championship rather than the team’s prospects against Laois. It couldn’t have helped the focus of the Galway players either.
Yet, that’s hardly an excuse for the team’s laboured showing against the admittedly well-drilled Midlanders whose defensive set up caused the Tribesmen no shortage of tactical difficulty. Laois packed their own half of the field, tackled like demons, relied on long range shooting and brought an intensity to the action which seemed to catch Galway by surprise. When Tommy Fitzgerald finished off a well taken move in the 56th minute, the home team had regained the lead and the prospect of one of hurling’s greatest ever shocks was back on the agenda.
Almost immediately, however, Galway settled their nerves when Davy Glennon was in the right place to finish the rebound of Eoin Reilly’s save from Joe Canning. They still had to endure some more anxious moments, but Aonghus Callanan’s green flag in the 64th minute finally gave the visitors some breathing space. It was all Callanan’s own work too, expertly controlling a long James Skehill puck out before escaping the clutches of the Laois defence. His low shot may have only trickled over the line but, at least, the Liam Mellows player was prepared to have a go. In contrast, for much of the match, many of his team-mates just couldn’t break free of the Laois shackles.
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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