Tipp's win underlines Galway's flaws

ALL is not lost but the conclusion is inescapable — the team Galway sent into battle at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday will win no All-Ireland title this year. It leaves the sideline heavies with some tough calls to make in the months ahead or it will be another summer of broken dreams for the men in maroon.Making the bridge from championship contenders to outright winners has proven beyond Galway for the past 20 years and the fault lines in the current side, exposed so readily by Cork at the same venue in the previous weekend’s league semi-final, certainly weren’t repaired ahead of their big showdown with Tipperary.In over 105 minutes of hurling, Galway have now conceded an alarming 3-35 and such defensive leakage is usually fatal at the highest level. It underlines where the squad’s Achilles heel lies though, ironically, their much vaunted forward division only fired in fits and starts last Sunday. In fact, Niall Healy, Ger Farragher and Iarla Tannian didn’t fire at all while Fergal Healy was only occasionally at the core of the action.Yet, there is not a sinner in the county who could question Galway’s heart, resilience or sheer honesty in Sunday’s thrilling National League decider. They never gave up and that doggedness will stand to them in the championship, but the team mentors must bite the bullet in sorting out their defensive and midfield personnel, especially.Of course, Galway have made progress this spring and there has been a largely settled appeal to their line outs of late, but that sense of security which comes in such an environment has been eroded by that near second-half collapse against Cork and Sunday’s woes in falling to a disappointing and deserved defeat, notwithstanding a couple of clear-cut goal chances which went astray. On balance, Tipperary had more individuals rising to the challenge than Galway with .........SEE ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S SENTINEL"Defeat could teach Galway a few valuable lessons"