A five-point defeat to your fiercest rivals will always sting, but last Saturday night in Thurles is unlikely to leave any lasting scars.
Against a seasoned Tipperary side, a youthful Galway team showed enough grit, hunger and promise to suggest that better days lie ahead, taking the All-Ireland champions deep into the contest on their own patch.
Bold statements following a National Hurling League game in January are the currency of a fool. Still, when a team delivers in the manner Micheál Donoghue’s side did here, a degree of optimism is not only understandable but justified.
Yes, Tipperary were some distance from full throttle, but Liam Cahill nonetheless selected ten of the starting fifteen that dismantled Cork to claim Liam MacCarthy last July. Against that backdrop, concerns about Galway’s relative inexperience were understandable. Fears that only intensified when newly installed captain Darren Morrissey limped off early with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Given the Sarsfields man’s recent luck, one can only hope it proves minor.
From the off, however, Galway played with intent and aggression. They went in level at half-time despite firing a plethora of wides, and the eventual margin of defeat flattered the Premier men. Galway created the greater number of scoring chances, were harshly treated on the free count by match official Seán Stack, and the decisive Tipperary goal came in the aftermath of a blatant throw in the build-up.
Reasons for optimism
Result aside, there was genuine encouragement in the performances of several younger faces. Cillian Trayers was composed and assured at full-back in difficult conditions, building on an impressive cameo against Offaly in the Walsh Cup.
Further up the field, Rory Burke, Darragh Neary and Jason Rabbitte all looked more than comfortable at this level. Burke showed real conviction in backing himself when the goal chance presented itself, Neary’s pace is a weapon Galway have sorely lacked in recent seasons, and Rabbitte appears to possess the skillset and temperament to be a fixture in maroon for a decade or more.
Aaron Niland will be disappointed with his return in front of the posts, but there was much to admire elsewhere in his display. His willingness to drop deep, hunt possession and work tirelessly for the team was particularly encouraging, a side of his game not always associated with him during his underage years.
I wrote in these pages after last year’s quarter-final defeat to Tipperary that Galway were “bullied, plain and simple” and had become “too nice to play against”. That accusation did not apply here. When the handbags emerged during a second half melee, the men in maroon stood their ground and gave as good as they got.
That said, defeat inevitably exposed areas that still require attention. The puck-out strategy remains a concern, with responsibility shared between management, Darach Fahy and the receivers, two soft scores conceded because of breakdowns cannot be dismissed solely on the conditions.
Similarly, when Tipperary began to gain control of the contest, Galway struggled to assert themselves around the middle third. That will be a lingering worry if Gavin Lee and Tom Monaghan are to remain the preferred midfield partnership.
Not everything is rosy. There will be bumps along the road, and progress will not be linear. However, there was enough in this performance to indicate that Galway are moving in the right direction. Time and patience will be required with this emerging group, but for the first time in a while, patience at least feels warranted.
Things don’t get any easier though with Cork coming down the tracks this Saturday night in Pearse Stadium. The Rebels arrive in reeling from last year’s All-Ireland decider and they set down a real marker by walloping Waterford last Sunday afternoon. One hopes they can back up their first display with another similar showing.
Mayo prevail in Salthill
It’s difficult to analyse the footballers defeat from last weekend to neighbours Mayo. The optimism says the fightback from being 11-points down warrants praise – especially in the absence of a host of middle-third options in new captain John Maher, Paul Conroy, Cillian McDaid, Cein D’Arcy and Matthew Tierney.
Or the encouraging showings from our fresher faces in Fionn McDonagh, Oisín Mac Donnacha and Ciarán Mulhern, who shot a-more-than-respectable 1-10 between them. Not bad at all.
On the flipside, Galway were far too porous as a whole and the concession of five two-pointers (three from frees ) will frustrate Padraic Joyce in the extreme. And they only managed to find the back of the net twice despite creating a whole host of goal-scoring opportunities.
Defeat already puts Galway on the back foot for survival with a gruelling schedule to come with, beginning with away trips to the last two All-Ireland champions, Armagh and Kerry, which will be followed by showdowns with Roscommon, Donegal, Monaghan and Dublin. They certainly cannot afford to be chasing 11-point deficits in any of those encounters.
