Inside Track
Gort must get up close and personal against Ballyhale
Inside Track with John McIntyre
In three previous attempts, the All-Ireland Club hurling championship hasn’t been a lucky hunting ground for Gort – their most recent campaign ending in an unexpected semi-final loss to Coolderry of Offaly at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds in February of 2012. That defeat stung the South Galway men but now they have the chance to make amends.
Ironically, the closest Gort came to winning the Tommy Moore Cup was when they fell (1-10 to 0-7) to Saturday’s opponents Ballyhale Shamrocks of Kilkenny in the 1983/’84 final replay and though the Galway champions will head to Thurles with no shortage of motivation, the fact that they can be freely backed at 7/2 to carry the day reflects the extent of the challenge facing them.
To be honest, anyone who was in Kenny Park in late April of last year watching them stumble over Liam Mellows in a first round championship tie after falling well behind, couldn’t have imagined that Gort would end up in an All-Ireland semi-final the following February – to put it mildly, they have turned themselves inside out in the interim.
Mind you, Gort didn’t have to be any great shakes to overcome the respective challenges of Ardrahan and Beagh in the knock-out stages of the title race, but they certainly hit the ground running when overcoming reigning All-Ireland champions Portumna, who admittedly had to endure over two months of inactivity, in a belated Galway final in mid-December.
The challengers had wind advantage in the first-half and though the heavy surface militated against much open hurling, Gort were in a good position at the break when leading by 0-9 to 0-5. For much of the remaining action, they were just doing enough to stay in front until Kevin Hayes brilliantly first-timed to the net to draw the teams’ level in the 57th minute.
Portumna, however, had barely stopped celebrating when Gort immediately delivered a fatal blow thanks to Wayne Walsh’s goal not long after being introduced to the action. They hadn’t wilted when the title holders struck for a timely equaliser and, for good measure, added a second green flag from Albert Mullins before the end.
We all know that Portumna are no longer the electrifying force which ruthlessly dismantled opponents in their hey-day, but Gort’s triumph still represented a notable achievement with the likes of half backs Aidan Harte and Greg Lally, along with the back-in-form Richie Cummins, making big contributions to the club’s seventh county title. There were influential displays too from the likes of Paul Killilea, the Linnanes’, Michael Cummins, Mark McMahon and Jason Grealish, who understandably tired after a long injury lay off.
Gort teams have never lacked resolution or grit over the years, but if they are to have any hope of derailing the Shamrocks, those qualities will have to be evident in abundance in Semple Stadium on Saturday. Their backs will have to get up close and personal with the vaunted Ballyhale attack, while their ability to close down the Kilkenny men further out the field will be critical to the outcome as well.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune
Inside Track with John McIntyre
MAYO are already there: and the odds favour Galway joining their great Connacht foes in the National League Final at Croke Park on Sunday week. That’s the exciting scenario after the penultimate round of Division One fixtures over the weekend. It would also represent only the second time the counties have clashed in Gaelic football’s spring showpiece.
Given that the Tribesmen only managed a solitary win from their opening four league games – a situation which sparked loose talk about the threat of relegation – to now stand on the brink of reaching the league decider is a noteworthy turnaround following victories over Monaghan and Armagh.
It leaves Galway in control of their own destiny. A win or a draw in their final group game against Kerry at Pearse Stadium on Sunday will see them through to the decider and given what’s at stake, it should result in a bumper crowd gathering in Salthill for a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland Final. A victory for Jack O’Connor’s team might be enough to see them through, although both Roscommon and Tyrone remain in the mix.
Though some observers are already doubting the benefits of a potential league final between Galway and Mayo in such close proximity to the Connacht championship, I have no truck with such reservations. For starters, this is the GAA’s second most prestigious competition and given that Galway have only won four league titles in the county’s history, why wouldn’t they target a massive early-season boost.
Mind you, at half-time against Armagh in the Athletic Grounds on Sunday, it appeared the home team were going to take some catching after building up a four-point lead in a low-scoring and defensive orientated encounter. They were the beneficiaries of a fortunate goal from their roving custodian Ethan Raftery, but there was more than a suspicion of square ball in Connor Gleeson’s crowded goalmouth.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
THE Galway hurlers or team management would hardly have imagined a few weeks ago that they would be out of contention for a place in the semi-finals of the National League after just three rounds of the competition – and two of those matches going ahead at Pearse Stadium.
With a month’s break between the ending of the league group stages and the opening round of the Leinster championship against struggling Wexford, it’s not an ideal scenario for the Tribesmen, especially as Henry Shefflin, Kevin Lally and Damien Joyce have still some way to go in reaching a settled team.
It was no great surprise that Galway came up short for the second game running in Salthill on Sunday. Hosting the All-Ireland champions Limerick, the men in maroon didn’t have as many regulars on duty as the Shannonsiders, who were still missing a quartet of influential performers in Hurler of the Year Diarmuid Byrnes, Gearóid Hegarty, Declan Hannon and the currently out of favour Aaron Gillane.
With Tom Monaghan bouncing back to form, Galway were committed before a bumper crowd of over 12,200, but you rarely got the impression that they would end up carrying the day. Limerick always looked comfortable and, significantly, were able to lift the tempo and hit the final three points of the match when Galway were threatening a successful comeback.
There were new roles for TJ Brennan and Tiernan Killeen in as reshaped defence, while Cianan Fahy, Dónal O’Shea, Kevin Cooney and Martin McManus were given the opportunity of making an impression further up the field. But without Daithí Burke, Cathal Mannion, who will miss the rest of the campaign due to a hamstring injury Ronan Glennon, David Burke and Fintan Burke, together with Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon and Darren Morrissey only being introduced as substitutes, it was always going to be a big ask for Galway to stay in the league hunt.
For more, read this week’s Connacht 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.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
WITH nine All-Ireland minor hurling titles in the last 19 years, including five of the last eight, you’d imagine that Galway would be more than content with the championship structure. After all, they have to play less matches than any other county to capture the Irish Press Cup.
But Galway remains aggrieved over their continued exclusion from the provincial championship and that frustration has manifested itself in a motion at this weekend’s GAA Congress appealing for the county to be granted access to either Leinster or Munster at U17 level.
Galway claim to have no problem with the prospect of winning less All-Ireland titles if they are treated the same as everyone other team. Currently, they should be at a disadvantage facing into a robin-robin system against counties with heaps of matches behind them from their respective provinces, but it hasn’t stopped Galway from dominating the minor hurling landscape.
That scenario underlines the consistent high-quality teams being produced by the county, but Galway’s understandable argument is that the lack of games is denying their players the opportunity to develop more. Unfortunately, when you are winning minor titles hand over fist, it weakens that argument.
Though Galway can’t be blamed for the likes of Offaly and Wexford – who have a paltry three Leinster titles between them since 1989 – lagging well behind in minor ranks, the last thing these counties want is the boys from the West joining their championship. Whatever chance Offaly and Wexford have without Galway, they would have little or none with them being around.
For more, read this week’s Connacht 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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