Sports
Cunningham under pressure after Galway implode in Walsh Park
ANOTHER one of those days that left you with more questions than answers as the Tribesmen’s eight-point defeat to Waterford in the National Hurling League quarter-finals, once again, underlined the ongoing problems of Galway hurling at this level.
Some of these questions in the aftermath of this loss were of the most basic. Having won the toss, why did Galway elect to play into a storm in the opening period? Here they were facing a team that has consistently caused them trouble over the years – in the Déise’s backyard – and yet still gifted them the initiative.
By half-time, Waterford led 0-14 to 0-5 but when asked about the reasoning behind this decision afterwards, manager Anthony Cunningham maintained this was not why they lost the contest. “I wouldn’t say so,” began Cunningham.
“We know if we played with the wind what would have happened. Waterford would have set up the way they did. That wasn’t a factor. The factor was that our play wasn’t good enough and we just didn’t want that battle there in the first half.”
He was right about one thing, Galway didn’t play well. So, we move onto the why? Was it team selection, team tactics or team play? Or was it all three? In truth, all three were a factor but to get to the root of the conundrum, team structure could be the over-riding issue.
In this respect, what was the reasoning behind throwing corner back Padraig Mannion, who only made his debut at this level earlier in the league, into the pivotal centre-half back position in a game of some consequence? Given Galway’s early exit from the championship last year, there was a great deal riding on this fixture.
If the management wanted to take that big a gamble – and this is no reflection on Mannion who, overall, had a sound league campaign – then why not just throw 2014 centre-half back Daithí Burke into the action? His hurling might not have been up to speed after his successful drive for All-Ireland club glory with Corofin but, at least, he knew the position and he would be up and running.
Other alternatives were Gort’s Greg Lally – who had played the previous three games and, despite a couple of errors, has the potential to grow into the role – and Liam Mellows’ David Collins, who held this position in the opening sequence of fixtures. Would they have been more viable options?
Then again, off the top of your head, you can count eight players – Collins, Burke, Lally, Fergal Moore, Iarla Tannian, Tony Óg Regan, Shane Kavanagh and Joseph Cooney – who have all played in the No. 6 shirt under Cunningham and Galway have still not nailed their colours to the mask on this.
No doubt, it has been a troublesome position – Liam Mellows John Lee, Mullagh’s Conor Dervan, Kilconieron’s Martin Ryan and Kinvara’s Ger Mahon – have also seen time in this berth in the years preceding Cunningham’s tenure but it’s now getting ridiculous.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Ollie Horgan says Galway United will need to play much better than they did last Friday if they are to take anything from their trip to early-season surprise packets Cobh Ramblers this Friday (5pm).
United set a club record by scoring nine goals in a game for the first time when thrashing league newcomers Kerry FC in Eamonn Deacy Park last Friday, but despite that jaw-dropping scoreline, Horgan wasn’t happy with how the side played and he warned that players will have to up their game in St Colman’s Park this coming St Patrick’s Day.
“Obviously we got goals, but we didn’t play particularly well. I know it sounds crazy in what I’m saying, but we got off to a very good start and I think had we not broken them down early, it would have been a completely different story.
“We didn’t keep the ball well, I actually thought we played better in Waterford [ a week earlier], and obviously against a better side we scraped through 1-0.
“I think the fact we scored a lot of goals and created a lot of chances is the positive, but we are quite realistic that we are going to a team that is up at the top of the table, away from home that is a hugely difficult place to go with what Cobh has,” said Horgan.
Horgan who was the main man in the United dugout again on Friday as John Caulfield served the final of a three-game ban for being sent-off at half-time against Finn Harps on the opening night of the season.
Horgan subsequently picked up a yellow card against Waterford; and new coach, Chris Collopy, found this way into the referee’s notebook last Friday, so that propensity for talking their way into trouble might be something United need to look at.
Not too much else has gone wrong for United so far this season, however; any niggling concern over the failure of United’s attacking payers to find the net were blown away on Friday with Ed McCarthy bagging a hat-trick, Stephen Walsh and Ibrahim Keita both scoring twice, and Francely Lomboto getting off the mark for the season as well.
It is understandable that Horgan wants to pull the handbrake on any notions of getting carried away with last Friday’s win – Kerry were embarrassingly naive, and while the win, and the manner of it, will fill United with confidence, they are making the trip south to another side high on confidence.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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By Pádraic Ó Ciardha
In what has been a strange and toothless-enough National Hurling League Division One overall, this meeting of Galway and Clare in Ennis might go down as one of the odder matches.
On paper, Clare were the side with a shot at making a league semi-final and Galway were the ones with nothing to play for and that’s how it played out for the first 15 minutes with the Banner racing into a commanding lead.
After that, a switch somewhere flipped and it was Galway, and not without reason it must be said, who looked like the side with something to prove.
Speaking after his side’s 1-24 to 0-22 win, Galway manager Henry Shefflin did say that his side had nothing to lose from their short trip down to Cusack Park but, perhaps more honestly, he admitted that the win was “important psychologically” for the Tribesmen.
Even if Galway do dispatch Westmeath as expected in their final league game this Sunday (Mullingar, 1.45pm), it’s a result that would have done very little to cover up the deficiencies shown by potential consecutive losses to Clare, Limerick and Cork.
The five-week gap between the end of the league campaign and the beginning of the Leinster championship should run a little smoother after Galway’s performance at the weekend, however, a showing that looked a step above what had gone before, even allowing for the seemingly disinterested opposition.
Shefflin, for his part, was happy enough with the improvement in performance levels.
“I felt [the performance against] Cork wasn’t good and we didn’t respond well to the sending-off. I thought Limerick was better, but probably still wasn’t at the level that we require,” said the manager on his side’s recent struggles. “You’re hoping then [for a response] because three in a row is a bit of a ‘what are we doing’ kind of job.”
Galway made a pretty shocking start to the game against Clare, trailing 0-8 to 0-1 early on but Shefflin didn’t seem overly concerned at that stage, suggesting that his team had put in some hard sessions in Loughgeorge in the days in the lead-up to the game.
“Lads were probably getting up to the pace of it. We trained a couple of times this week and we’re probably pushing the boat a little bit to see, with us being out of the league, if you can push things on a little bit. You don’t know what everyone else is doing, but I thought the lads dragged themselves back into it well.”
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-10
Waterford 2-6
DARREN KELLY IN DUGGAN PARK
Galway made a solid start to this year’s All-Ireland minor camogie championship on Sunday as they ran out five-point winners over Waterford.
Two Alannah Fahy goals bookended the Tribesgirls’ performance while Aoibheann Barry also contributed 1-7.
The maroon and white were strong favourites and just over 60 seconds in, Galway set the tone for what looked like would be a routine opening day win for them.
Barry played the through ball, allowing Fahy get on the end for the first goal. However, the next two scores went Waterford’s way as Maggie Gostl and Alannah McNulty reduced the deficit to the minimum.
Síofra and Caoimhe Kelly set up Fahy for a Galway point on seven minutes making it 1-1 to 0-2; and a Barry free six minutes later restored the home side’s three-point cushion.
Galway had the wind but struggled to put distance between themselves and their opponents, and the spirited visitors showed this wasn’t going to be an easy outing as Eimear O’Neill’s cross into the square on 14 minutes was batted to the net by Gostl to draw the sides level.
The teams traded over the next two minutes: Abbie Massey picked out Barry for a Galway point; Niamh Halley won a Waterford free which Gostl converted.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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