Trip into unknown for Galway intermediate hurlers

THE intermediate hurlers of Galway and Kilkenny will line out for their first competitive fixture of the year when they clash in the All-Ireland semi-final at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Saturday (6pm). 

The structure of the competition was heavily criticised by Galway boss Johnny Kelly last week and while he still holds that view, he does wish to stress that he sees significant value and potential in the competition if the playing field was the same for all teams.

Both Galway and Kilkenny go into this weekend’s penultimate clash without really having a clue where they are at, although in the Tribesmen’s case the correlation between the intermediate and U-21 squads – both under the management of Kelly, trainer Dinny Cahill and selector Tony Keady – should ensure there is plenty of competition in the set-up.

For Galway’s part, they have been branding and selling the intermediate team as a ‘development panel’ over the past year and a half and this is interesting in that the only player from last year’s development panel to see championship action in 2013 was Craughwell’s Niall Healy – already an established inter-county player.

The other 23 players listed on the match-day programme against Kilkenny last August did not play a second of senior championship hurling this year, although a number of them could boast of All-Ireland U-21 medals (2011) in their back pockets, such as Killimordaly’s Declan Connolly, Craughwell duo Jamie Ryan and Ger O’Halloran, and Carnmore’s Donie Fox.

Indeed, the numbers fail to stack up further when you see that just one player – Athenry defender Conor Burke – is the only surviving member of last year’s ‘development panel’, although a limited number of U-21 players, most notably Shane Maloney (Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry) could possibly feature.

That is by no means a reflection on the management team but it does highlight a fundamental flaw in the consistency of Galway hurling, the personnel who are used and, perhaps, the players themselves and their temperament.

For the clash with Kilkenny, Shane Mannion (Clarinbridge), Michael Kelly (Ballinderreen) and Ciaran Fahy (Carnmore) will fight it out for the No. 1 jersey while Burke (Athenry) and Keith Kennedy (Killimordaly) should be prominent members of the defence.

Experienced pairing Damien Joyce (Cappataggle) and Leo Smith (Portumna) could possibly form the midfield partnership while, up front, the likes of Enda Concannon (Castlegar), Eoin Forde, (Clarinbridge), Joe Gantley (Beagh) and Niall Lynch (Meelick/Eyrecourt) will be in contention to start. That said, in the case of Gantley and Lynch, they are both struggling with ankle injuries.

For more see this week’s Tribune here