The warning signs were there as Galway surrender McCarthy Cup

Inside Track with John McIntyre

IT wouldn’t have taken TV super sleuths like Ironside, Mannix or Columbo long to realise that Galway hurlers were vulnerable in last Sunday’s All-Ireland final after sifting through all the various pre-match evidence.

I was partially fearful that Galway would be beaten too, but when you are a former manager of the county hurlers and a few of those players are still involved, never mind working the Connacht Tribune for nearly 38-years, it wouldn’t have been appreciated to strike a discordant note ahead of the sport’s biggest occasion.

Too many were being dazzled by Galway early blitzes in their replay against Kilkenny and the two battles with Clare. Being taken to replays by both the Banner and the Cats did not fit the profile of a team which was generally considered unbeatable at the start of the championship. They only edged out Dublin by a point as well and though supporters dismissed that result as the game was a dead rubber, the warning signs were there.

Obviously, a marathon eight-match campaign left Galway carrying some wear and tear ahead of the showdown, but it was still a surprise just how much they were off the pace. This was the heaviest one-point defeat ever in an All-Ireland final. The champions only got so close through sheer force of will and character. In similar circumstances, past Galway teams would have been beaten out the gate.

This latest final defeat – the county’s seventh since 1988 – should make us appreciate all the more Galway’s all-conquering run through the league and championship in 2017. They were the team to be shot at from the start of this year’s campaign and though their displays were riddled with inconsistency, they always found a way to survive.

Defending a 13-match championship was no accident, but a lot of the Galway players were stuck in neutral last Sunday. Limerick shook them with their intensity and though Joe Canning, Padraic Mannion, David Burke and Joseph Cooney all had some great moments, this quartet’s collective efforts could not compensate for the troubles all around them.

With even the Galway camp admitting afterwards that it would have constituted “robbery” if they had salvaged a draw in the dying seconds, it reflects the overall trend of the final just as much as their own difficulties. They just weren’t as sharp as Limerick. Too many players were caught in possession; clearances were mis-directed; and they also struggled to couple to cope with the Treaty men’s successful puck-out strategy.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.