Supporters of the Galway senior hurlers will be hitting the road to Thurles early on Saturday morning to see the Tribesmen take on Cork in the first of this weekend’s All-Ireland quarter-finals (1.45pm ).
One poor performance against Kilkenny in the Leinster final has spun Galway’s season upside down, with Henry Shefflin’s side now going into a make-or-break scenario as underdogs.
Cork is the side on a roll with three wins on the bounce, the most recent triumph a 3-27 to 2-19 win away to Antrim. Trips north to Corrigan Park are never easy, and although Cork trailed by one at half-time, a second half surge led by Darragh Fitzgibbon, Seamus Harnedy, and Conor Lehane ensured the Rebels would not come undone against the recently crowned Joe McDonagh champions.
Cork showcased the level of panel depth that is now at Kieran Kingston’s disposal with the late introduction of Patrick Horgan and Jack O’Connor.
A Cork side with momentum behind it is always a dangerous beast to face. Eye-catching wins against Waterford and Tipperary propelled them out of Munster when they appeared destined for a disappointing campaign after last year’s All-Ireland final appearance.
The harrowing nature of that loss to Limerick, allied to losses in the opening rounds this year against both the same opponents and Clare, highlighted the shortcomings of what appeared to be a very rigid tactical gameplan, but with a few tweaks and more emphasis on moving the ball forward in quicker fashion, Kingston’s men have put themselves right back in the mix.
Shefflin and his backroom team have a huge task on their hands to get this Galway team off the canvas after they were floored by Kilkenny.
It is hard to see where exactly personnel changes might have a drastic effect, so it is basically a case of re-instilling belief that what worked to get them to a Leinster final can do the trick again.
Galway looked like they missed the calm composure of David Burke in the middle third last time out, while defensive lynchpin Daithí Burke’s injury status remains unknown.
Shefflin will need big game performances from Conor Cooney, Conor Whelan, Cathal Mannion, Joseph Cooney, and Brian Concannon if they are to harbour realistic hopes of progressing to a semi-final meeting with Limerick.
Cork have averaged almost 30 points a game in their five championship outings to date, so Galway’s backs will need to have their wits about them to deal with this attacking threat.
Quite whether Cork will have encountered the level of physical examination in recent weeks that Galway can pose remains to be seen.
The last time these counties met in the championship was at the same stage and venue in 2015, when Galway ran out convincing 2-28 to 0-22 victors, which made it four-in-a-row after wins in 2009, 2011, and 2012.
The last time that Cork got the better of Galway came in 2008 in Thurles, when Joe Canning in his first championship campaign scored 2-12 in an epic contest.
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