Galway lay down a positive marker for season ahead

GALWAY more or less got what they came looking for at Pearse Stadium last Sunday. Apart from issuing a timely reminder to Kilkenny that the Tribesmen remain the single biggest threat to their unprecedented dominance of the All-Ireland championship, they are starting to plug a couple of vital gaps in their team as well as laying a major platform for a significant cut at winning the National League title.

It was a productive day’s work in front of a big attendance and while Galway weren’t flawless and you could argue that Kilkenny were marginally the better team over the 70 minutes, the fact is that Anthony Cunningham’s squad appear extremely focussed and determined to build on last year’s significant progress with team captain Fergal Moore, for instance, displaying a cutting edge one doesn’t normally expect in February.

Moore attacked anything that came his way as if his life depended on it and though Aidan Fogarty may have slipped him for a couple of points, the Turloughmore player typified Galway’s intent on the day.

They fought hard for everything in a competitive battle with a two goal burst in just over a minute in the opening quarter just about managing to keep them at arm’s length from Kilkenny from there to the finish.Huge interest centred on the display of Joseph Cooney in the number six jersey and he certainly confirmed the good impression he made in Tullamore the previous weekend with an authoritative effort at the heart of Galway defence which he rounded off with a superb match-clinching point from inside his own half five minutes from the end.

Cooney’s reading of the game and security under the dropping ball were a highlight of the game, together with strong contributions from goal-scorers Davy Glennon and Damien Hayes up front.

Naturally, not everything worked for Galway. Iarla Tannian was somewhat off the pace in midfield, Niall Burke’s bouts of inaccuracy resurfaced again while Jonathan Glynn, though typically honest throughout, struggled when the ball hit the ground and didn’t make the hoped-for impression under the puck out either – admittedly, however, it was a tactic Galway over-used on the day. Deploying Glynn on Tommy Walsh was an obvious move, but the long serving Kilkenny half back was in no mood for dispensing favours.

Though a little vulnerable and prone to fouling when ran at, the Galway defence as a unit certainly wasn’t found wanting. Goalkeeper Fergal Flannery was alert and made a timely second-half save from Richie Hogan, while Kevin Hynes, Johnny Coen, the swashbuckling Niall Donoghue and David Collins, who scored a mighty long distance point, were all in the zone. Midfield, however, was a troubled area despite some good moments, including the opening score, from Aidan Harte, but a couple of his deliveries were intercepted due to a needles low trajectory.

In attack, Glennon was again brimful of energy and looks here to stay on Sunday’s evidence. He took his goal with the minimum of fuss, might have had a second one, and generally proved a handful for a Kilkenny defence which was below its best with Jackie Tyrell, in particular, lacking his normal level of intensity, most notably in the tackle.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.