Galway U20 hurlers have a score to settle with Clare says captain Donnacha Campbell
GALWAY U-20 hurling captain Donnacha Campbell admits they have a score to settle with Clare at Semple Stadium on Sunday.
Three years ago at the same venue, a highly regarded Galway minor team surprisingly lost out to the Banner in the All-Ireland Final (2-22 to 4-11).
"Yeah, we do, but look, players move on. They have players who aren't involved, we have the same. Different players are stepping up, so it's a fresh game. Obviously, it's three years ago. A lot can happen in three years. It's a fresh game and we're looking forward to it.”
Campbell was speaking after Galway’s convincing Leinster Final win over Kilkenny in Portlaoise last Wednesday. “It's a competition we've struggled in the last few years, so I was delighted just to get over the line finally. It's a monkey off the back now.”
After a close game against the Cats in the group stages, the Galway number six put the gulf between the teams in the final down to the boys in maroon getting to the pitch of the game quicker.
“We gave them a head start in our group game. We were 8-2 behind and we were very disappointed with our start to that game. So we just wanted to get a good start and then go from there, and we did. We were at parity for a lot of that first half.
"Even the first 15-20 minutes of that second half, it was an even game. We kept a four, five, six-point lead and in the last ten minutes we pushed on. The scoreboard flattered us a small bit.”
Campbell said Galway’s strong finish to the opening half was critical in the Leinster final. “We fired over three or four scores there. It just helped us settle going into half-time. If we went in level, we might have been a bit more angry with ourselves, or a bit more disappointed. We were just a bit more settled then going into half-time and we knew we could go on in the second half.”
He felt their second goal from Vince Morgan was the deal breaker. “ You still want to push on and tack over the scores. I think we did that. We let in a goal at the end, but that was the only real lapse of concentration we had. Have to be happy with the way we kicked on.”
Campbell is now looking forward to the opportunity of rounding off their campaign with an All-Ireland title after getting a big scare in the Leinster semi-final against Wexford.
“Such fine margins and you need that bit of luck. We got over the line in that game and we pushed on there today. We were about a yard from going out of the championship. The ball went over there, it went wide. If that went over the sideline then we were probably gone. You need that bit of luck. We took it and we rolled with it.”