Inside Track
Rout of U-21s makes bad summer even worse for Galway
Inside Track with John McIntyre
THERE was an air of weary resignation among the handful of Galway supporters departing Thurles last Saturday evening. They had headed to Semple Stadium far more in hope than confidence about the county U-21 hurlers’ prospects of dethroning All-Ireland champions Clare in the first place, but still wouldn’t have imagined that their team could be made appear so ordinary and so second class.
It proved a humbling experience, especially as there was no shortage of senior club experience on the Galway team. Commitment wasn’t the issue; it was just that the challengers didn’t possess the quality or skill to halt Clare’s burgeoning progress this summer. Coming in cold wouldn’t have helped them either but they can have no complaints about a 12-point defeat.
The previous month at the same venue, the county’s seniors had also come up well short against the Banner, further underpinning the reality that Clare hurling in general is now in a far better place compared to Galway. Apart from possessing obviously more technically gifted individuals, it’s also clear that the expertise behind Clare’s conditioning and coaching is in a different league too.
Few would have imagined this scenario approaching half-time in last year’s drawn All-Ireland senior final when Galway were seven points clear and threatening to repeat their barnstorming provincial triumph over Kilkenny. Sadly, it’s been basically downhill ever since and the convincing weekend dismantling of the county U-21s is only adding to the existing widespread sense of gloom.
In the space of a few months, Galway have lost their way completely. Two of the U-21s, Jonathan Glynn and Conor Cooney, were in action against Clare on both days, but were unable to really step out from the crowd. Contrast their influence with Clare players of a similar age profile like David McInerney, Tony Kelly, Colm Galvin and Podge Collins and you immediately see that they have emerged as leaders and game breakers much more quickly.
Frankly, these are worrying times for Galway hurling. About six of the team which featured in the senior quarter-final against Clare are past their prime; there remains an unhealthy dependence on Joe Canning up front; most of the central positions have no stability; and the jury is out about some of the squad’s younger brigade. The euphoria in Croke Park last July 12 months has long since dissipated.
U-21 manager Johnny Kelly defended his corner to the media after the heavy loss to Clare at the weekend. They would all have worked their socks off over the past few months and team coach Dinny Cahill is the ultimate sideline warrior, but could their toil have been more judiciously employed. In any event, Galway weren’t nearly good enough although the vast majority of the team are under-age again in 2014.
With Mattie Kenny having already stood down as senior coach and team boss Cunningham under pressure to hold onto his post, there is a lot of uncertainty out there at present. Cahill, Kelly, Tony Keady, the third member of the U-21 management, Kenny, Cunningham and Tom Helebert have all invested a big personal effort during the year and while there is always sniping when a team falls, managements are too often the fall guys in this county.
There is a talent deficit at present as underlined by those recent results, but are Galway as professional as they need to be? Is there enough finance being made available for team preparation? When you look at the numerical strength of their backroom teams and the scope of the resources at the disposal of Clare and Dublin hurlers, for instance, the answer is a resounding no.
For more, read this week’s Galway City 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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