Galway prove class apart

Galway 1-21Dublin 1-12

STEPHEN GLENNON IN CROKE PARK

ONCE again, the Galway minor hurlers gave a master class. Once again, Mattie Murphy’s boys delivered. Order restored; Galway are the 2011 All-Ireland minor hurling champions. Let the doubters – those who whispered their misgivings and reservations prior to this decider – come forth and repent.

To say, Galway won this title at their ease would not be an understatement. After negotiating a potentially tricky opening quarter, the young Tribesmen took charge of this fixture in much the same manner as a confident conductor commands a vast orchestra. Galway were animate, they were succinct, they were simply inspiring. And Dublin danced, entranced, to their tune.

If Kilkenny are the aristocrats of the senior grade, then Galway – in no small thanks to the contribution of manager Murphy – have now set the benchmark for success at this level. Since they finally made the breakthrough in 1983, they have now won nine titles – six under the Turloughmore native – and have claimed eight of those in the last 19 years. It’s a remarkable strike rate.

And yet, there were doubters out there in the run-in to this decider. Yes, Dublin had amassed a whooping 6-19 in their victory over Waterford in their All-Ireland semi-final, but you don’t measure heady heights using a strain gauge weighing scales. And, as it transpired, too much weight had been put into that Dublin display.

In contrast, Galway had an ideal run-in to this final. Their facile win over Antrim in the quarter-final stages gave little or no indication as to the strength of this side, while the hard-fought, extra-time win over Clare – overlooked by some pundits – was subsequently overshadowed by the Dubs’ display in their penultimate game a week later.

The raw material, though, was there and the two biggest challenges for Galway’s management team were, first, to ensure their side was sharp in their hurling and focused of mind for this one and, secondly, to select the best possible starting XV to take the game to Dublin from the outset. Job done on both counts.

While Murphy will receive the majority of the plaudits – and rightly so – for his leading role in yet another All-Ireland victory, huge credit also to team trainer Michael Haverty for having the squad of players up to speed. Quite simply, Galway’s first touch was just immaculate while their movement was, at times, a joy to behold.

In addition, Galway’s ability to compete physically with their extremely athletic opponents was also to prove a fundamental cornerstone for the victory. Dublin’s height and bulk had caused all sorts of problems for the likes of Kilkenny and Waterford in previous games, but once Galway fronted up to them in the initial stages, the Leinster champions had no answer to the graft and wile of their opponents. The Dubs had no Plan ‘B’.

And so, by half-time, Galway led 0-10 to 0-4, having repelled Dublin’s early onslaught. In this time, centre-half forward Ciaran Kilkenny was causing the maroon and white rearguard some problems, but once Loughrea’s Sean Sweeney got a hold of him in the second quarter, the potency just seemed to fade out of the Dubs’ attack.

To some degree, it was the capacity of the Galway defence to deal with Dublin’s big guns that, ultimately, lay the foundation for the win. Coming into this game, the likes of Cormac Costello, Paul Winters and Ciaran Kilkenny had tallied 5-7, 1-14 and 2-10 respectively, but on Sunday they could only manage three points from play between them over the hour.

To the fore for Galway in quashing this threat were full-back Paul Killeen, Pádraic Mannion and Sweeney, with Ahascragh/Fohenagh’s Mannion, in particular, putting in a huge performance to smother the life out of the Liffeysiders top scorer Costello, who could only manage one point on the day.

As a result of the team’s defensive endeavours, the Tribesmen – led by the midfield powerhouse of Pádraig Breheny – really opened up on Dublin in the second quarter, out-shooting their opponents by seven points to one.

Captain Shane Moloney – finishing with a total of 1-9, 1-3 from play – registered four points in this crucial period, while the lively Jason Flynn (2) and midfielder Dean Higgins also chipped in with scores in this time.

For their part, Dublin, despite the constant rotating of forwards, could not just catch a break and, in some respects, they may feel referee Johnny Ryan did them no favours. Unfortunately, this was neither here nor there because Dublin were nowhere near the pitch of the game and any intensity being injected into the contest was being administered by a far sleeker Galway outfit.

In fairness, Dublin did try to shake things up in the second period, which included introducing Donal Gormley, and they looked to be off to a solid start when full forward Aodhán Clabby, who operated out at left wing forward for large periods, struck over a fine score.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.