Inside Track
Ryan’s harsh dismissal leaves brave Dublin down and out
Inside Track with John McIntyre
MOST of the time, neutrals don’t get the results they aspire to in sport. Last Sunday in Croke Park, for instance, virtually everybody outside of Cork would have been willing Dublin to a first All-Ireland hurling final appearance since 1961, but sentiment and romance do not get teams over the line. Instead, they just came up short after an heroic effort in the match of the year.
It’s difficult, however, not to feel some sympathy for Dublin this week. They had gone toe to toe with Cork in a breathtaking spectacle until centre forward Ryan O’Dwyer was controversially dismissed for a second yellow card by referee James Ownes in the 50th minute. The Dubs were holding onto a one point lead and still had every chance of carrying the day, but being reduced to 14 men changed the dynamics of the remaining action.
O’Dwyer’s first yellow card was a bad call and his style of tackling is more the product of his manic desire to win rather than any malice on his part, but since football man Pat McEnaney took over at the head of the national referees group, hurling is being policed far more rigorously. It’s a regretful development and though it’s a debate for another day, the GAA must seriously look at introducing separate refereeing bodies for Gaelic football and hurling.
Given the circumstances of O’Dwyer’s red card, Dublin will be absolutely gutted this week. They had made light of the team’s five-week break since trouncing Galway in the Leinster final and, even still, could have sneaked the verdict only for Paul Ryan losing his nerve with the frees in the second-half. Pat Horgan’s opportunist goal was avoidable too and though overall the Dubs should be immensely proud of their contribution to a hurling epic, they will know deep down that a great opportunity has slipped through their fingers.
The pace and quality of Sunday’s semi-final was exceptional. Some of the point-taking in the first-half was of the classic variety with Danny Sutcliffe, David Treacy, Dotsy O’Callaghan, Conal Keaney, Joey Boland and John McCaffrey landing great scores for Dublin, while Conor Lehane, Lorcan McLoughlin, Pat Horgan, Seamus Harnedy and Pa Cronin were doing likewise at the other end. The sliotar was flying up and down the field, leaving the huge crowd of over 62,000 enthralled.
The match was turning into an all-action, high scoring shoot out which Cork appeared to be edging until Paul Ryan’s pass paved the way for Treacy’s well-taken booted goal in the 30th minute. Dublin didn’t really drive on, however, as the Rebels quickly regrouped. They actually managed to lead by 0-15 to 1-11 at the interval after midfielder Daniel Kearney made the most of a stray opposition clearance in the dying embers of the half.
It was no surprise that Dublin abandoned their surprisingly orthodox formation for the second-half. They reverted to a seven-man defensive set up in an effort to close down Cork’s rampaging forwards. Certainly, the rate of scoring was reduced and the men in red jerseys were no longer getting the space and latitude of the opening 35 minutes. In fact, Cork only managed three points in the third quarter and had lost some of their fluency, but then came O’Dwyer’s dismissal which left Dublin with a mountain to climb.
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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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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