Sylane slump to heavy defeat against impressive Wexford men

St Mogues 0-18

Sylane 0-9

GALWAY’S long quest for an All-Ireland club junior hurling title continues after Sylane came up well short against St Mogues of Wexford in tough conditions at Parnell Park on Saturday.

This All-Ireland semi-final only got the green light after a pitch inspection an hour before the game and that decision by Antrim referee Colum Gunning must have been ‘touch and go’ given the drenched surface of the Dublin venue.

In theory, the heavy conditions ought to have been into Sylane’s barrow. They are a durable, physical outfit well able to win the 50/50 collisions, and while the Galway champions possessed no shortage of commitment, they lacked the slickness and artistry of St Mogues.

Though it’s often assumed that a heavy pitch is tailor-made for a grinding-type of team like Sylane, in reality it suits an outfit with the classier players better due to the premium on skill levels. St Mogues were simply the better hurlers, but they too were also psyched up for the occasion.

This was Sylane’s third appearance at the penultimate stage of the junior championship and their current crop was considered to be the club’s best chance of breaking the mould after an impressive run through the Galway title race.

In the end, however, a double scores defeat summed up how much Sylane were inferior to their Wexford opponents,a but they can take pride in a typically honest performance and never dropped their heads even when St Mogues stretched clear in the second half.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.