St Thomas’ thrash Gort in manner which must worry final opponents

Inside Track with John McIntyre

OVER the past decade Gort have been one of the most consistent teams in the Galway hurling championship. Two title triumphs in 2011 and ’14 were followed by county final defeats in 2016 and 12 months later. They were generally hard beaten and had a tradition for being doughty battlers.

In the 2016 decider, they lost by four points to St Thomas’, but what unfolded at Pearse Stadium on Sunday must have come as a shock to the Gort system. Mattie Murphy’s men knew they faced a big challenge in trying to dethrone the reigning champions, and also had to deal with Covid issues in the build-up to the twice postponed semi-final.

Yet, Gort would have been in an uncompromising mood ahead of the fixture and having come through a tough quarter-final against Cappataggle, they would have at least been expecting to rattle St Thomas’. Instead, they departed Salthill with their tails between their legs after suffering the club’s heaviest championship defeat of modern times.

Losing by 23 points (4-20 to 0-9) was a humiliating experience for Gort and while most observes thought that St Thomas’ would carry the day, nobody anticipated such a chasm between the two teams. Whether Gort lost their focus over the uncertainty associated with seeking postponements or just had a total off day, the bottom line is that they were untypically wiped out by the title holders.

Whatever about Gort’s own shortcomings or the mental distractions, it’s a huge leap of faith to imagine any circumstances in which they would have seriously troubled St Thomas’ such was the ruthless manner in which Kenneth Burke’s charges went about their business. The champions are in rude health and a young Clarinbridge outfit face a daunting task in the county final at the same venue on Sunday week.

Chasing a fourth consecutive Galway title – an achievement which hasn’t been done since Turloughmore in the sixties – St Thomas’ look to have taken their form to a new level. With a goal from James Regan, they led by 1-10 to 0-6 at the break before the floodgates opened on the resumption.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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