Inside Track: Loughrea sail close to the wind but still do it

St Thomas' completed their fabled six-in-a-row in 2023 and, since then, it's Loughrea who have taken over, completing a title hat-trick in typically doughty fashion by edging out Tommy Larkins in a belter of a county final at Pearse Stadium last Sunday.

Not for the first time this year, Loughrea were staring down the barrel of defeat. In fact, they had lost to Larkins in the opening round; scrambled over a Moycullen team which was subsequently relegated; hardly set the world alight in workmanlike wins over both Gort and Castlegar; before having to dig deep late on in overhauling Craughwell in the semi-final.

Basically, Loughrea have been sailing close to the wind, but Tommy Kelly's team have now such inner-belief and trust in each other that it seems no predicament fazes them when matches are in the melting pot. Again, the champions were struggling for traction in the opening half on Sunday and, honestly, should have been further behind than six points after 23 minutes.

Larkins – utterly unfazed by the occasion – had thrown down the gauntlet from the start. They were punching holes in the Loughrea rearguard and will be bitterly disappointed not to have found the net at least once. Luckily, Gearóid Loughnane and Alan Kelly were proving their defensive worth for the title holders who were being hounded in possession.

Some of the hurling Larkins’ played was out of the drawer. One point, in particular, from Conor Slattery in the 15th minute saw them intelligently work the ball into a scoring position with Darren Duggan, Conor Nevin and Kevin McHugo all involved. Former county player Jason Flynn was in the zone in an attack where Cian Daniels' sheer strength proved difficult to counteract the longer the match went on.

The Murphy brothers, Eanna and team captain Ronan, were carrying the fight in no uncertain terms back the field as well and with McHugo landing two bombs, Larkins were winning most of the key battles. It was their conversion rate which ultimately let them down. Fifteen wides is far too many in a game of this magnitude and a few of those spurned opportunities shouldn't have been even attempted in the first place, ignoring the percentage call of recycling possession.

Yet, the challengers did so much right. Loughrea are arguably the best coached team around but struggled to create space or time on the ball for their shooters. Larkins' were taking them out of their comfort zone and only for the big scoring contributions of Tiernan Killeen and Jamie Ryan, there would have been no three-in-a-row.

Reflecting on the final, isn't it ironic that a free being brought closer to the opposition’s posts in the 26th minute possibly cost Larkins’ victory. Loughrea were penalised for dissent and the net result was that Jason Flynn was tempted to go for goal, but if the free was taken from where the original foul was committed, the team's top scorer would surely have knocked over a routine point.

On such tiny margins, finals can be lost or won, but Larkins still deserve huge credit for the manner in which they fronted up to Loughrea. They tore into everything and with a bit more composure over the closing minutes, Niall Kelly's charges would surely have carried the day.

They clearly had left no stone unturned in their preparations either. A large backroom team of 18, which included former Wexford hurler Diarmuid Lyng and current Offaly manager Johnny Kelly, sought to cover all bases and Larkins nearly pulled off a famous victory. After coming so close, you would expect them to be serious contenders again in 2027. They left everything on the field.

Loughrea will be relieved to have overcome another formidable challenge and you have to admire the lack of panic in their ranks when things are going against them. Sure, manager Tommy Kelly took off his cap in frustration at times on Sunday and their sideline became agitated, but the team's focus never wavered.

Tiernan Killeen's ability to ghost into scoring positions proved decisive to the outcome, while Jamie Ryan's six-point scoring burst in the second half was equally important. Goalkeeper Gearóid Loughnane, Alan Kelly and centre back Shane Morgan also featured prominently as the champions underlined why they have become so difficult to beat in knock-out hurling.

Completing the three-in-a-row is major milestone for a club which has known it's fair share of final deflation over the years. Loughrea are now the undisputed top dogs in Galway hurling, especially after coming through a difficult campaign hampered by injuries. You'd expect them to now have another serious rattle at finally winning the All-Ireland.

​Salthill

AFTER their last-gasp victory over title holders Maigh Cuilinn in the Galway final, Salthill-Knocknacarra now turn their sights to the Connacht Club championship where they take on Ballinmore Sean O'Heslin's in the provincial quarter-final at Carrick-on-Shannon on Sunday.

A routine victory over the Leitrim champions is probably on the cards, but it remains to be seen if the fallout from that serious incident at a house party on the night after their fourth ever Galway triumph has affected morale in the camp.

Embarrassing

MY word, that was a shocking effort from Connacht in front of their own fans at Dexcom Stadium last Friday. The hosts were actually favourites to end a long losing sequence against Leinster but, instead, were routed on a 50-5 scoreline. And this against a team which was missing its 17 international players.

Sure, Connacht were short eight key individuals also tied up on Irish duty and their squad depth can't compare with Leinster's, but this was still an embarrassing trouncing. It's not as though they fielded 15 novices. The Westerners were out of their depth and the way the visitors ran through them was alarming. No wonder the new grandstand had half-emptied by the end. Some of them may not be back after this calamitious show.