Offaly  3-20

Galway 2-17

John McIntyre in Tullamore

THE warning signs has been there all along. A campaign which had been stuttering from one game to another ended in ignominy at O’Connor Park in Tullamore on Saturday when the Galway U-20 hurlers were dumped out of the provincial championship by a superbly-drilled Offaly outfit.

Ironically, the more matches Galway were playing, the worse they were getting. Sure, they were shorn the services of two key players in Tiernan Killeen (injured) and Liam Collins, who wasn’t released by the senior management, but that can’t excuse how much the Tribesmen were off the pace in this Leinster quarter-final.

Outworked by ravenous opponents, Galway committed a series of unforced errors which were unacceptable at this level. Offaly were sharper and slicker, and had more method to their hurling, leaving Brian Hanley’s charges looking pedestrian and ponderous at times.

Remember, this was a Galway team with a winning pedigree, completing the county’s milestone achievement of four consecutive All-Ireland minor titles back in 2020, but you’d never think it watching them on Saturday. They can have no complaints with the outcome as Offaly arguably had to win this lively contest three times.

They also had to deal with the loss of star attacker Adam Screeney and defender Brecon Kavanagh to concussion, but their commitment never wavered. In contrast, a heap of Galway players struggled to get going with only Darren Shaughnessy – until his injury – Brian Molloy, and subs Diarmuid Davoren and Liam Leen making a significant impact.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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