With the Galway senior footballers and hurlers both tasting defeat in their most recent championship outings, attention now turns to the defining stretch of the season — the period that will ultimately shape whether their campaigns are judged a success or a disappointment.
There were striking similarities in the manner of both losses. Each side surrendered match-winning positions in the second half and, in the aftermath, will be left reflecting on opportunities missed and how the games slipped from their grasp.
The silver lining is that neither setback proved season-ending. Even so, both results represented significant missed opportunities. A victory for the footballers would have secured a historic five-in-a-row of Connacht titles, while the hurlers could have booked their place in the Leinster final with a game to spare.
With the U-20 hurlers potentially busy schedule in the coming weeks - facing into a Leinster and possible All-Ireland final - the opportunity to afford key figures like Jason Rabbitte and Aaron Niland a weekend off would have been priceless. Instead, following the defeat to Dublin last Saturday evening, they know they must travel to Wexford next week and get at least a draw to qualify for this year’s provincial final.
Pain in the capital
In truth, Micheál Donoghue’s side delivered a bitterly disappointing performance against the Dubs. Poor decision-making, sloppiness in possession and an accumulation of 17 wides kept Dublin within touching distance before Brian Hayes struck late for the decisive match-winning goal.
All afternoon, the Tribesmen looked disjointed and when their new running-based game plan breaks down, it can make for frustrating viewing for supporters. Something that’s compounded by the fact that they failed to capitalise on the advantage of a strong wind behind them.
Dublin, by contrast, adopted a direct and fruitful approach in the closing stages, targeting substitutes Ronan Hayes and John Hetherton inside, and they were richly rewarded for it. We certainly could have, and probably should have, had the likes of Rabbitte and Whelan closer to go in the opening 35 minutes at least to make use of this obvious advantage.
Instead, Rabbitte was far too often ploughing a lone furrow and when he gained possession, he was often hugging the stand touchline. As a result, Galway didn’t trouble Dublin netminder Eddie Gibbons once. Something that came back to haunt the men in maroon for a finish.
There is a strong and logical argument that Donoghue and co persist with this style with a medium- to long-term view to playing in the wide-open expansive plains of Croke Park. There is another conflicting argument that when the elements were as strong as they were last Saturday evening that Galway should have let the ball do the work.
Now, the excitement that followed the victory over Kilkenny in the opening round seems to have dissipated and the lacklustre performance against Offaly, Kildare and now Dublin leave plenty of questions.
Matters weren’t helped by the injury-enforced absence of in-form forward Rory Burke and Aaron Niland’s ankle injury which saw him withdrawn from the action carrying a noticeable hobble.
With a team so young, however, it’s important that patience is afforded to the players and management. We’re not going to hand out double digit drubbings to Kilkenny every week. But at the same time, we should strive for consistency in our performances.
All-in-all, Galway still have all the tools to win Leinster this year. To achieve that, defeating a poor Wexford outfit should be non-negotiable and from now on, performances must be considerably better than last weekend.
Footballers seek response
Roscommon’s impressive Connacht final turnaround would have left Padraic Joyce, his management and players with plenty of food for thought these past two weeks. Joyce was quick to point towards this upcoming tie with Kildare being a fresh start in a new competition and it’s the optimal mindset for the squad to adopt.
Without being disparaging, Kildare were the plum tie for all in the All-Ireland final draw and victory would mean they’ll then have two attempts at reaching a quarter-final. The Lilywhites were relegated from Division 2 this year but on reflection now, their four-point loss to Westmeath in the Leinster semi-final doesn’t look so bad now.
Another two weeks on, one will expect that hopefully the likes of Shane Walsh, Damien Comer and Matthew Tierney are further along on the road to match fitness. The shock loss to Meath last year, should guard against any complacency and you would expect Galway to get their season back on track in Pearse Stadium.
