No crowds but Galway and Mayo battle will lack nothing in intensity

Inside Track with John McIntyre

After over seven months without inter-county action – an unprecedented situation in the modern history of the GAA – the country’s elite footballers and hurlers are gearing up for a return to the battleground, but it will be a strange and challenging environment for all involved.

No spectators will be the most unfamiliar aspect of the new sporting normal and though players will have become accustomed to such a disadvantage when lining out for their clubs in local county championships, the lack of atmosphere will still prove demanding. And we all know how the urgings of fans can help to lift their teams at critical moments.

Throw in regular Covid testing and restrictions on travel – nearly all teams will have to use two buses for away matches – and the continuing negativity about whether or not the All-Ireland hurling and football championships will even be completed, the GAA’s top players have additional pressures to cope with.

Furthermore, supporters haven’t a scintilla of form to go on in assessing the chances of their own county teams. Nobody really knows what’s around the corner but, at least, before the football championship gets underway, the final two rounds of National League matches will have been played. In hurling, it’s straight into the provincial title races.

Obviously, the preparation of teams has been compromised. Full inter-county training only resumed in mid-September, but the quality of the club championships didn’t suffer because teams couldn’t gather on their local pitches for several months. Even club found a way to keep the show on the road with Zoom the new buzz accessory for helping to maintain squads in good physical condition.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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.