Galway hang on to claim another league win

Galway 1-22Offaly 1-18

by STEPHEN GLENNON

IT may not have been pretty but, in the end, a patched up Galway stumbled over the finish line to claim their third National Hurling League victory against a full-strength Offaly outfit in front of a paltry attendance at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.

Once again, there were positives and negatives from this one, but with Galway expected to be restored to their full complement of players – particularly with the return of the Portumna contingent – in the coming weeks, you would have to feel that preparations for the championship only begin in earnest from here on in.

Certainly, there is a great deal of work to be done. Consistency over the 70 minutes is still a problem, although the management will be satisfied with the manner in which their charges kept the scoreboard ticking over throughout this contest. The concentration levels proved adequate, with those lengthy barren periods, a feature of their opening three League games, not an issue on this occasion.

Also, Galway have yet to embrace a discernible pattern of play this season. Fair enough, Galway used the League to good effect to build a side that was, ultimately, feared in last year’s championship, but you would have hoped that the squad would have matured more than they seem to have in 2010.

That is not to say progress has not been made. They are still further ahead where they were this time last year – three wins from their opening four League games – but they still seem to lack that bit of nuance and bite while they have yet to show that they have a killer instinct when it comes to putting teams away. For instance, having led 1-13 to 0-8 at half-time against Offaly, Galway should have just killed the game off in the second half. Instead, they were outscored 1-10 to 0-9 in the latter period.

That does not come down to what players are available or unavailable, per se, but a state of mind within Galway hurling. Ask any general hurling supporter outside the county, and most will say that Galway have excellent, 'wristy' hurlers, but they don’t impose themselves in enough games. And, in recent years at least, when they have had the big result within their grasp, they, too often, do not have the necessary self belief to kill the game off. Their defeats to Kilkenny and Waterford in the 2009 championship are perfect examples of this. The recent loss to Tipp in the League is another.

While 2009 NHL Division 2 champions Offaly are not at the level of these teams, they still could have snatched something from this game in the closing stages. Having reduced the deficit to four points by the 64th minute, Joe Dooley’s men subsequently had a couple of goals chances to slash Galway’s lead to a point.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.