Hurlers draw small comfort from a poor performance

Galway 2-19Offaly 3-16

STEPHEN GLENNONIN CROKE PARK

Were it not for the glorious sunshine and the redolence of suncream hanging in the humid summer air, Galway folk could have been forgiven if they thought that Halloween was upon them at Croke Park on Sunday. For, not to put too fine a point on it, the Galway senior hurlers got the fright of their lives from fearless underdogs Offaly in this pulsating Leinster semi-final.

The colours of Freddie Krueger’s ‘geansaí’ may now be a part of cinematic folklore, but for the Tribesmen it was the green, white and gold of the Faithful County that almost made this experience on Jones Road a living nightmare. For just like the fiendish Freddie, Offaly too often had the knack of popping up to slash and burn the Galway defence just when it was least expected.

Indeed, given Galway’s bright opening to this contest – leading 0-5 to 0-1 after just 10 minutes – no one of the 25,260 strong crowd could have foreseen that Joe Dooley’s men would turn this deficit around to lead 3-7 to 0-9 after 31 minutes, having all but shredded the Westerners’ rearguard.

Despite bouncing back into a commanding 2-15 (21) to 3-8 (17) lead after just 10 minutes of the second period, the nightmare continued for John McIntyre’s charges thereafter, as they struggled to come to terms with the fire and brimstone of a, by now, 14-man Offaly juggernaut.

In many respects, the harsh sending off of half-time substitute Daniel Currams on 46 minutes did nothing more than galvanise Offaly, who, having watched as Galway received a white flag for a Ger Farragher sideline cut that was clearly wide in the first half, were now transported back to the days of pikes and pitchforks.

This was their cause and for the remainder of the half they fought like a Clan of old, outscoring their rivals by eight points to four. This was no longer the ‘Galway match’, as it had been referred to all week. This was all Offaly. Old Offaly, new Offaly, it didn’t matter. This was championship Offaly at their best.

While it has been some time since the Faithful produced such a credible display – underlined by the delirium of their fans after the final whistle – it was still in their psyche to see this one out to the bitter end. That is provincial championship hurling and its uniqueness is perhaps something that has been lost on the men from the West, or at the very least, something that they have failed to grasp. Certainly, it’s a different beast to the qualifier system that the Tribesmen have become so accustomed to.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.