Galway need season’s best to get over Tipperary hurdle
IT’S Saturday, April 20, and the Galway minor hurlers are trudging off the field at Nowlan Park after suffering a trimming at the hands of Kilkenny in the opening round of the Leinster championship.
It was a chastening experience for new manager Kenneth Burke and his players as the Cats unceremoniously ended a 14-year drought against Galway at this level on a 4-24 to 1-14 scoreline.
In the immediate aftermath of that game, it was difficult to imagine Galway featuring at the business end of the championship, but here they are gearing up for an All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday (2pm).
It’s a tribute to the group’s resilience that Galway have made it this far, especially as they suffered another heavy loss to Kilkenny (4-18 to 1-13) in the semi-final of a provincial campaign which was risk-averse.
After their first-round loss to Kilkenny, Galway displayed lots of character in eking out away victories over both Dublin and Wexford, with full-forward Brian Callanan having a field day against the Slaneysiders.
When renewing rivalry against Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-final in Tullamore last month, Galway were a lot more competitive, even though a 14-point defeat might suggest otherwise. The teams were level at half-time and the boys in maroon also paid a big price for shooting 18 wides in a contest where Kilkenny’s late scoring burst gave a distorted impression of the action.
Still, Galway had more wounds to lick and again they weren’t found wanting. First up was an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Waterford in Thurles. The standard wasn’t great, and the opposition was poor, but Burke’s charges did what they had to do in emerging clear-cut winners on a 2-16 to 1-6 scoreline – their goals coming from Cillian Roche and Callanan.
It was back to Semple Stadium a week later for a quarter-final clash with Leinster finalists Dublin. At times, you’d think Galway were going to coast home again – they were 10 points clear after 23 minutes – but a lucky goal for their opponents subsequently changed the dynamics of the contest.
Pictured: Galway attacker Cillian Roche taking on Dublin's Eoghan Brennan during the All-Ireland Minor Hurling quarter-final at Semple Stadium. Photo: Joe Keane.