Joyce and Galway players ahead of the curve under football’s new rules

YOU’D never have seen the like of it before – a Gaelic football inter-county team changing their goalkeeper at half-time despite leading by 0-17 to 0-1. But it’s one of the revolutionary things happening under the new rules in the current National League campaign.

That scenario unfolded in horrible conditions at Pearse Stadium last Sunday. The Galway management were thinking outside the box in relation to the goalkeeping position as Conor Flaherty and Connor Gleeson shared the number one duties between the posts.

The previous weekend in Celtic Park, Gleeson didn’t look comfortable in scoring positions during his regular advances up the field and that led to Padraic Joyce biting the bullet in relation to who would wear the goalkeeping jersey against Donegal.

Their faith was placed in Conor O’Flaherty, who looks a more natural footballer. With Donegal incredibly opting to face the gale in the opening half, the Claregalway clubman saw plenty of the ball in the opposition’s half and picked off an important two-pointer, though he missed another attempt.

Galway were basically out of sight at the interval, but Joyce was taking no chances. After all, Kerry lost a 12-point lead to Dublin in the previous round, while Westmeath suffered the same fate against Cavan in Mullingar last Sunday. Due to his longer kick-outs, Gleeson took over at half-time and the Tribesmen’s big lead was rarely threatened.

What Galway did with their goalkeepers on Sunday underlined that their mentors are ahead of other sidelines in adapting to the new rules. They are the best team for protecting the 40m arc while, at the other end, are picking off two pointers for sport. Against that background, it’s no surprise that Galway are unbeaten and probably heading for the league final.

Unfortunately, Sunday’s eagerly awaited clash was destroyed by the awful conditions, making it risky to read too much into the outcome. Still, Galway’s game management was excellent despite having to field without the 2024 Player of the Year, Paul Conroy, and defender John Daly.

Though both Seán Kelly and John Maher were outstanding, it was again Shane Walsh who dominated the post-match headlines. He landed four two-pointers and glided around Salthill as if it was his own personal turf. Donegal could hardly lay a glove on Walsh, who finished with 11 points to his name.

Given their second-half woes against Derry in the previous round, it was no surprise that there was a real edge to Galway’s play from the off. Johnny McGrath and his teammates were up for the battle and despite the unlucky dismissal of Matthew Tierney and two black cards which left the hosts down to 13 players for a total of 20 minutes, Donegal failed utterly to exploit their numerical advantage.

Pictured: Galway's Cian Hernon secures possession against Donegal Ciaran Moore during Sunday's Division 1 National League tie at Pearse Stadium. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy