Shaughnessy set for big showdown with Dubs ace

Date Published: {J}

Dara Bradley

WHAT happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

We could well find out this coming Sunday when Dublin’s minor messiah, Ciarán Kilkenny at full-forward, takes on Galway’s rock solid full-back and captain, James Shaughnessy.

The match won’t hinge on this dual – after all there are 13 other individual battles around the park – but whoever comes out on top here could certainly have a major bearing on the outcome of the All-Ireland semi-final at GAA HQ this Sunday.

Kilkenny, a rising hurling and football star from Castleknock, is the best ever minor full-forward to be produced in Dublin, if you’re to believe the praise that has been heaped on the youngster from within his own county.

But Galway manager Tommie Joyce reckons Kilkenny, a free-taker who can shoot off both left and right, is about to face the best Galway full-back ever to emerge at this grade.

Kilkenny is averaging five points per championship match and has scored 27 points in the championship so far, 20 from play; and while he’s adept at finishing, he is useful at laying off to teammates to tap over, too.

Experienced Shaughnessy has been consistently good this season and last, a calming influence on the players around him in the heart of the Galway rearguard; a safe pair of hands in the last line of defence.

It could be a humdinger of a contest between the two stalwarts of their respective outfits, but as the 18-year-old Ballinasloe man pointed out cutting off the supply of possession sent into target man Kilkenny will be equally important.

“I’ve never played against him (Kilkenny) before but I’ve heard about him and obviously saw him play against Cork and Kildare . . . he seems to be a brilliant player and he’s not a bad hurler either, but if I’m on my game and feeling confident enough I’d be hoping even I could hold him to a point or two, or maybe none at all.

“He seems to be finishing a lot of their scores with the midfield and backs supplying possession. If we can win enough primary possession out the field then we can stop the supply into him and the other Dublin forwards, and then it doesn’t matter as much who is marking who,” said Shaughnessy, a by-product of some serious investment being made at underage level in Ballinasloe, a junior A club that will no doubt make it to intermediate and senior once the youngsters come through.

He is one of seven survivors from last year’s panel, who fell at this stage of the competition against Cork in a bizarre and thrilling 2010 All-Ireland semi-final that ended in heartache for the Tribesmen – it’s not often you lose a game after scoring five goals but Galway suffered that fate by just a point, 5-8 to 3-15.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that match,” said Shaughnessy, adding it has been a motivational cause this year. It was strange to be honest. It was hard really to get over it – I didn’t want to see a football for a few weeks after it. But it was great for this year; even though we lost, it was great experience. The way it ended wasn’t nice and we’ve been using it as motivation all year – we’ve no intention of losing a semi-final in the manner we did last year.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.