Inside Track: Are Galway footballers another nearly team
THE Galway footballers of the early seventies ended up being tagged as a 'nearly team' after coming up short in three All-Ireland finals in the space of four years and, unfortunately, the current generation of county players may have the same reputation in store after several near misses in recent years.
Since 2021, Galway have lost two All-Ireland finals, two quarter-finals and a preliminary quarter-final – all big games which were there for the taking. You can talk about bad luck, bad breaks and injuries, but when it comes to closing the deal, the men in maroon jerseys have been repeatedly found wanting.
Last Sunday in Croke Park, Galway were under significant pressure in the opening half against Dublin. Struggling to win primary possession and clearly not match-ready for the intensity and quality of their rivals after easy pickings against both Kildare and Westmeath, it was all about hanging in for John Maher and company.
As it transpired, Galway did that and more, although some wild shooting from Dublin let them off the hook. The efforts of John Daly, Dylan McHugh, Rob Finnerty, Cein D'Arcy — who has taken his form to new levels this summer — Kieran Molloy, Finnian Ó Laoi, and Maher were keeping their team in the hunt, but the challenge for the second-half was to up the ante in every sense of the word.
And Galway weren’t found wanting. Now Dublin were the team on the retreat as they fell six points behind with 15 minutes remaining. The Tribesmen had nearly all the momentum and you're also thinking that the Dubs' hectic schedule over the previous fortnight is about to catch up on them. In essence, the quarter-final was set up for a Galway win.
The match had turned in their favour and though two big penalty calls by referee David Gough both subsequently went against them, Dublin had already cut Galway's lead in half by the time Liam Silke picked up a deserved black card. Con O'Callaghan's converted penalty had the teams level and, suddenly, you had a real fear victory was slipping away from Galway.
Down to 14-men and with Dublin energised by their raucous support on the Hill, Padraic Joyce's team were unable to get a foothold on the exchanges again despite Shane Walsh briefly regaining the lead for them in the 63rd minute. It was the conclusion of a mad 90 seconds or so when Galway twice hit the post, had penalty claims resisted, and goal attempts by Damien Comer and Finnerty denied.
In retrospect, that finished Galway's challenge in a closing 15 minutes when they were heavily outscored by 1-8 to 0-1. That is a damning statistic and as Joyce conceded afterwards, management and players must be accountable for what unfolded over the closing stages. When it came to which team had the better game management in those clutch moments, Dublin were the clear winners.
As expected, the keyboard warriors are having a field day in the wake of Sunday's defeat. I rarely dip into social media – too much anonymous ill-informed and nasty commentary for my liking – but the bile being directed at Joyce and others this week is inexcusable and unacceptable. Sure, Galway have blown some good chances under his tenure and we can all question selections and substitutions, but the Tribesmen have developed into one of the top teams in the country.
Joyce, his management and players have invested a huge amount of effort over the past seven years and nobody will be hurting more as another summer passes by without Sam returning to the county. He still has two more years to serve, but the question Joyce must honestly answer is does he still have the heart and stomach to go back into the trenches, especially as some rejuvenation of the team is required? Time to consider all options is the least one of the county's greatest-ever players deserves.
Big One
DESPITE having seeing Galway hurlers in action multiple times this year, it's doubtful if I have ever been so uncertain about what fate lies in store for them in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park on Saturday. Cork are understandably strong favourites and more than one person has speculated that they could blitz the Tribesmen.
But this is a Cork team which has lost three All-Ireland finals over the past five years, while there must be some scar tissue still in their ranks over the 'greatest' collapse in the history of hurling deciders against Tipperary last July. The Rebels are under huge pressure, not helped by the county's yearning to end it's longest title famine, now stretching to over two decades.
Yes, they are capable of running rings around any opposition when in full flow, but they coughed up a lot of chances to Limerick in the Munster Final and were fortunate to only lose by a point. Cork do have the admirable Darragh Fitzgibbon back and made short work of Offaly in the interim, but overall you could argue they have yet to hit their heights of 2025.
Surely, Galway's game plan will be to flood numbers behind the ball – as they did so successfully against Dublin – and try to restrict space and, in the process, Cork's running game. Cathal Mannion ostensibly operated as a successful 'sweeper' in the Leinster Final, but Ben O'Connor and his management must be aware leaving Mannion unmarked is asking for trouble.
Against Dublin, Galway isolated young Jason Rabbitte in the inside line with Conor Whelan spending a lot of time further out the field. The current form of Tom Monaghan is another plus for Galway; while long-serving pair, Padraic Mannion and Daithí Burke, can be trusted to marshal their rearguard to best effect.
Yet, the gulf so far this year at all levels between Leinster and Munster does make one cautious about Galway's hopes and I have no time for those who say this is a 'free shot' for them as if the consequences of defeat are not too bad. For goodness sake, there is an All-Ireland Final place at stake. On form, Galway have a puncher's chance, but no more than that.