Galway and Donoghue keeping outside noise at bay

GALWAY senior hurling manager Micheal Donoghue said his side didn’t pay any attention to the outside noise heading into the All-Ireland Hurling semi-final against Cork.

“Look, that's more noise outside for us. We just come in and we train and we can see what they're doing every night. We're totally comfortable where we're at. You know, full trust and belief in the group and the quality that they have,” said Donoghue.

“You know, but they're still a young group and they're still learning and evolving. They'll still have good days and bad days, but today was a good one.”

The Rebels were strong favourites to progress into the All-Ireland final but Galway physically bullied their opponents and progressed into their first All-Ireland SHC decider in eight years. The Tribesmen hunted in packs and squeezed the life of Cork in the middle third. Ben O’Connor’s side failed to win a long puckout between the 38th and 74th minute.

“I've said many a time, the lads understand their responsibility and accountability of wearing the jersey and work rate is high on our agenda.

“They brought massive energy in the second half and you know, when momentum shifted in our favour, they pushed on and you know, we had created a gap for us that put us in a good position,” added Donoghue.

Cork led 1-12 to 1-7 after 28 minutes, Galway came storming back into the game hitting five points before the break through Aaron Niland, Jason Rabbitte, Darren Morrissey and Tom Monaghan which saw them just trailing 1-13 to 1-12 at the interval.

“I suppose we had a huge emphasis on getting a good start for ourselves, just to put ourselves in the game and put our own stamp on it.

“And look, obviously with a height of respect for Cork and they showed that in the second quarter, they came back into it and as you said, the few points before half-time just kept us right there, which was really important.”

The winners took control in the second half, outscoring the Munster finalists by a whopping 1-14 to 0-5 over the final 35 minutes.

“I think throughout the league and throughout the Championship, as the team has evolved and as they've gotten more comfortable with what we wanted to do, we've had some really good second-half performances.

“And we knew that if we were in the position we were in going into the second half, that we were well capable of pushing on again and thankfully we did.”

The All-Ireland SHC final will be a repeat of the 2018 All-Ireland final between Galway and Limerick. Supporters will now begin their hunt for tickets for the big game on Sunday, July 19, at Croke Park.

The development of the younger players in the Galway senior hurling squad has been remarkable this season. In one sense, Donoghue has been surprised by how quickly they have adapted and progressed at inter-county level, but at the same time, given their talent and potential, it has come as no surprise.

“Yeah, sure. Look, you'd have to say yeah, like we went through a fair transition with the squad and personnel.

“But from early on when we came back, you could just see the enthusiasm and the energy that was in the group. You know, they've stayed humble, they stay working and they get back to recovery tomorrow and push on again,” explained the Galway manager.

“We see them every night in training, like, do you know what I mean? Since they've come in, it was like a seamless transition. We've seen how good they are at underage and with their clubs.

“I think I said it after the Leinster final, it's a massive experience in big meaningful games like a Leinster final where there is a consequence and again today in the All Ireland semi-final, nearly full house, so like that's a massive experience for them as they go deeper into their career. So yeah, long may it continue.”

Daithi Burke had his right knee heavily strapped in Saturday’s All-Ireland semi final win over Cork. The Turloughmore defender battled on through injury.

“Daithi is such a leader in the group, he worked so hard to get right for today and his training time was restricted, so I think that was evident in the performance.

“I think that now will bring him on a ton again and look, he's pivotal to us and as I said, he's a huge leader in our group.”

Rory Burke missed Saturday’s win over Cork and is now in a race against time to be fit for the All-Ireland final.

“Look, he's working really hard with the boys, So we'll give him every chance and we'll stay pushing with it. No more than any of the other younger fellas. He's been top class this year,” added Donoghue.