Clare 2-22

Galway 4-11

ALL-Ireland finals tend to be a different beast to every other game. The build-up is bigger, the hype is greater, there is more pressure, not forgetting having to perform before the largest crowd of the championship.

Not alone had Galway minor hurlers to handle all of that, they also had to cope with the huge weight of expectations on their young shoulders after blitzing their way to Sunday’s decider at Semple Stadium.

Unfortunately, Fergal Healy’s charges didn’t manage the biggest occasion of their young sporting lives very well. A jittery, under-par display saw them struggle to keep tabs on a classy Clare team which was capturing only the county’s second-ever Irish Press Cup.

You could see the shock on the faces of the Galway players and mentors afterwards as they tried to come to terms with an unexpected defeat. Everything had gone so smoothly for them in powering their way to the final, and then suddenly the dream is over.

Galway had deserved all the positive reviews over the past couple of months such was their superiority over a string of different opponents. Their reputation as being an exceptional team was built on a solid foundation. They had earned that status.

And even though the Galway camp knew their biggest challenge of all was coming in Thurles, on a strict formline through the finalists’ respective fortunes against Cork, it looked as though the boys in maroon had about six or seven points in hand of Clare.

It didn’t pan out that way, however, despite Galway managing to rattle the net four times for their second time in the championship.

Over-elaboration in defence and around midfield, unforced errors, puck-out struggles, and with four of their forwards failing to score from play, the Leinster champions lacked their usual cohesion.

Having not being really tested on their way to the final was no help to Galway’s cause either. When the pressure came on, too many of their players were rattled and lacked composure. Through no fault of their own, it was a foreign environment for them.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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