Galway's senior hurlers face arguably their toughest assignment yet when Dublin come to town this Saturday afternoon. A victory for the Tribesmen would secure their place in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final.
Micheal Donohue's charges have enjoyed a flawless Leinster campaign to-date, with last weekend's victory over Kildare making it three wins from three. The Dubs are the only other unbeaten side so far, recording two victories, the most recent being against Wexford last Saturday, and one draw.
A 4-22 to 1-22 win over Kildare kept the feel-good factor surrounding this Galway team rolling. But the scoreline does not paint an accurate picture on the difficulties the Tribesmen encountered against an improving Kildare outfit under Brian Dowling.
Galway would not take the lead until a Cathal Mannion point on the 54th minute. The Kildare pressure was relentless in the early stages and, helped by playing with a strong wind, they went into the interval 10 points to the good. It could have been more had Rory Burke not found the net on the half hour mark.
With the wind behind them in the second half, Galway upped the intensity and showcased their superior fitness. Big impacts off the bench also played a part in the comeback victory. Half-time substitute Tom Monaghan scored the first of their three second-half goals in the 40th minute, before Cian Daniels bundled home a third eight minutes later.
There was just one point separating the teams before Galway’s man-of-the-match, Conor Whelan, bagged their fourth goal in the 60th minute before the Tribesmen pulled away to secure what was a comfortable victory on-paper.
They can ill-afford such a slow start against Dublin at Pearse Stadium this weekend. Niall Ó Ceallacháin's team will be hungry to make a statement as a win would be priceless in their pursuit of earning a Leinster final place.
The Dubs showed their areas of promise in their 2-21 0-20 win against Wexford last weekend. Donal Burke is the danger man, especially from dead ball situations. The Galway defence won't want to give away needless fouls with such a sharpshooter around. Cian O'Sullivan and John Hetherton will need to be well marshalled.
It all makes for an intriguing match-up in Salthill on Saturday. Victory would allow for rotation against Wexford in the final round robin fixture and ample time to prepare for a shot at a first Bob O'Keeffe Cup since 2018.
Throw-in at Pearse Stadium is 4.30pm this Saturday.
