Shefflin must be shocked after meek showing from his hurlers

Inside Track with John McIntyre

IT’S almost as if the Limerick game never happened. After that barnstorming victory at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick a fortnight previously, Galway supporters expected a lot more than what they got in the third round of  Division 1A hurling league matches at the  weekend.

We anticipated Galway would carry big momentum into Sunday’s home meeting with Wexford after flooring the All-Ireland champions, but instead they were a pale shadow of that outfit in falling to a worrying defeat. The home team were flat and possessed little of the intensity and drive which characterised that victory over Limerick.

True, they had to field without the influential Conor Whelan, and also lost Padraic Mannion to injury in the first quarter, but Galway were still a big letdown in Salthill. It was a timid display by any standards, and they looked completely out of ideas by the time the final whistle had sounded, leaving new boss Henry Shefflin surely alarmed by what he saw.

And what makes the disappointment more acute is that Galway had drawn level with Wexford by the 49th minute after scoring six of the opening seven points in the second half. They had the wind behind them, and the presumption was that the Tribesmen would kick on for victory.

Instead, they only managed a measly two more points – one from Cianan Fahy and the second a sideline cut from Conor Cooney – as Wexford regained control of the exchanges. By the finish, they had Galway chasing shadows with their accurate distribution and strong lines of support running. They also had the best player on the field in Rory O’Connor.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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