Careless Galway dice with danger as title defence gets complicated

Perhaps, the sweeper in hurling isn’t dead after all. Only for Clare shifting Colm Galvin into the role midway through the opening half of Saturday’s thrilling All-Ireland semi-final, the Banner men would most likely have been blown away by a Galway team which took off at 100 miles an hour at Croke Park. Clare were already nine points down and really struggling to compete against the champions’ sheer physicality and quality. Their sideline had to react quickly and decisively or else their team’s long-awaited return to GAA headquarters would have turned into a nightmare. There may have been more than a touch of desperation about moving Galvin back, but it contributed hugely to saving Clare’s season. Galway, on the other hand, must be kicking themselves for not putting Clare away in the first half – and they had more than enough chances to do so. A tally of a dozen wides for 35 minutes hurling is unacceptable for the champions and they could have paid an almighty heavy price for it. When Shane O’Donnell put Clare two up in the second period of extra time, Galway were on the brink of being beaten. In the circumstances, their players deserve a massive amount of credit for responding to the challenge with Jonathan Glynn emerging a pivotal figure in this period. By that juncture, Galway had lost Gearóid McInerney, Joe Canning, Adrian Tuohey and Conor Whelan for various reasons, but their hearts and minds remained admirably strong. Though it took a brilliantly crafted point from Clare substitute Jason McCarthy to deny Galway a place in the All-Ireland final for the third time in four years, the Tribesmen have now been holed below the water line as well as losing the tag of invincibility which hung around them in the early stages of the championship. The drawn Leinster final indicated Micheál Donoghue’ men weren’t bombproof; last Saturday confirmed it. Life has become more complicated in defence of their All-Ireland crown and if Galway come out on top in this weekend’s replay, they won’t have the luxury of the same recovery time as final opponents Limerick who showed gallantry of extreme levels in wearing down Cork in another titanic semi-final last Sunday. Galway’s injury woes are both untimely and troublesome as well. It remains to be seen how compromised the fitness of Gearóid McInerney and Joe Canning is – both hobbled off against Clare – while the strain put on Daithí Burke’s injured ankle in the drawn semi-final couldn’t have aided his recovery. Only his warrior-like make up allowed the Galway full back survive a really difficult challenge.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and  county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.