Galway GAA discussion thread

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Happyilylost wrote: »

I'm 100% sure if Clare and Derry win it's a draw. It's only provincial finals they stop repeating in quarter finals.

I'm not 100% so I can't say for sure, but I've searched quite a bit online and different sources say different things. You wouldn't have a link to the rules or something?

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Taken from the football thread:

All-Ireland Quarter-Finals
The All Ireland Quarter Finals shall be on an
arranged basis. Subject to the respective Provincial
Champions not meeting the defeated finalists from
their own Province in this Round and to the avoidance
of repeat pairings where possible, two nominated
Provincial Champions* shall be paired against the
Winners of Round 4A and two nominated Provincial
Champions shall be paired against the Winners of
Round 4B

Galway definitely won't face Derry.

Happyilylost

I can't post a link yet sorry. But I copy and pasted this from the Irish independent

However, as counties that have already clashed in a provincial final cannot meet again in the quarter final, the pairings in the last eight could be predetermined depending on the results of the two qualifier matches next Saturday night.

Essentially if either of the beaten provincial finalists (Roscommon or Tipperary) wins, the draw will be pre-determined as Tipp cannot play Kerry again and Roscommon cant face Galway in the quarter-finals. However, if Clare and Derry win then a draw will be required.

Search "All Ireland Quarter final draw" you'll see the independent article half way down.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Happyilylost wrote: »

I can't post a link yet sorry. But I copy and pasted this from the Irish independent

However, as counties that have already clashed in a provincial final cannot meet again in the quarter final, the pairings in the last eight could be predetermined depending on the results of the two qualifier matches next Saturday night.

Essentially if either of the beaten provincial finalists (Roscommon or Tipperary) wins, the draw will be pre-determined as Tipp cannot play Kerry again and Roscommon cant face Galway in the quarter-finals. However, if Clare and Derry win then a draw will be required.

Search "All Ireland Quarter final draw" you'll see the independent article half way down.

I've read that same article, but that's written by a jounalist going by his own interpretation. It's possible for him to be wrong, and I think it's probable. Unless something is found from an official GAA source we probably should assume anything.

This link; is about hurling, but it backs up what I'm saying anyway, and is from the GAA.

h2005

THFC wrote: »

I've read that same article, but that's written by a jounalist going by his own interpretation. It's possible for him to be wrong, and I think it's probable. Unless something is found from an official GAA source we probably should assume anything.

This link; is about hurling, but it backs up what I'm saying anyway, and is from the GAA.

It's an open draw if Derry win. That's from a member of the Galway panel. Doesn't look like it's going to happen!

Happyilylost

THFC wrote:

I've read that same article, but that's written by a jounalist going by his own interpretation. It's possible for him to be wrong, and I think it's probable. Unless something is found from an official GAA source we probably should assume anything.

THFC wrote:

; is about hurling, but it backs up what I'm saying anyway, and is from the GAA.

Fair enough. He could be wrong. I know no journalists word is gospel. Galway Footballers Facebook page is where I got originally that if Clare Derry won it would be a draw. But again they could be wrong.

TCDStudent1

h2005 wrote: »

They were refusing non-guests for the Connacht final

I parked there that day and there wasn't an issue. I have seen them stop people parking there before when they've a wedding on the same day.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

h2005 wrote: »

It's an open draw if Derry win. That's from a member of the Galway panel. Doesn't look like it's going to happen!

Happyilylost wrote: »

Fair enough. He could be wrong. I know no journalists word is gospel. Galway Footballers Facebook page is where I got originally that if Clare Derry won it would be a draw. But again they could be wrong.

Last comment I'll make on the matter as it doesn't matter too much anyway. We'll find out on Monday who we play.

This is a link to a word document found on the GAA website. It's 100% official, Galway will not play Derry should Derry win.

It states;

(iii) All-Ireland Quarter-Finals
Each of the four Provincial Champions shall play against one of the winners from Round 3,
Subject to the respective Provincial Champions not meeting the defeated finalists from their own Province and to the avoidance of Repeat Pairings were feasible,
a Draw shall be made to determine the four pairings.

seligehgit

h2005 wrote: »

It's an open draw if Derry win. That's from a member of the Galway panel. Doesn't look like it's going to happen!

Derry are looking the more likely now...3 points up,early days.

h2005

seligehgit wrote: »

Derry are looking the more likely now...3 points up,early days.

Guess we'll find out if they do!

Martin567

Happyilylost wrote: »

I'm 100% sure if Clare and Derry win it's a draw. It's only provincial finals they stop repeating in quarter finals.

(iii) All-Ireland Quarter-Finals
Each of the four Provincial Champions shall play against one of the winners from Round 3,
Subject to the respective Provincial Champions not meeting the defeated finalists from their own Province and to the avoidance of Repeat Pairings were feasible,
a Draw shall be made to determine the four pairings.

It's amazing how many people don't know the rules, even players and mentors directly involved. The above surely ends any argument.

There will be no draw required for this section. If Derry beat Tipp, they will play Kerry and Clare play Galway. If Tipp beat Derry, Tipp play Galway and Clare play Kerry.

Diabhal Beag

Gonna be some craic in Croker next week from all sides.

Utopia Parkway

So it's Galway v Tipp.

Diabhal Beag

Gas that one of the two sides from that goal bonanza of a qualifier in Tullamore would be semi-finalists in 2016

threeball

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

So it's Galway v Tipp.

Glad it's Tipp rather than Clare. I believe they present a sterner test than Clare which we need after the Roscommon game and would need if we were to progress into the semi.

Megager

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Gas that one of the two sides from that goal bonanza of a qualifier in Tullamore would be semi-finalists in 2016

Twas great fun that day. Hope we prevail again but tipp will fairly put it up to us. Decent team that

Lollipop95

Have to say I'm very surprised that Jason Flynn isn't starting for Galway. He was in great form last year but maybe he isn't performing too well in training

aidan24326

Lollipop95 wrote: »

Have to say I'm very surprised that Jason Flynn isn't starting for Galway. He was in great form last year but maybe he isn't performing too well in training

There may be something we don't know, like as you said maybe he hasn't been going that well lately. But on his day he's one of our best forwards so it seems strange.

Based on today's game Tipp will be a test next Sunday. They're a good team but if Galway can reproduce last Sunday's level of performance I think it will be enough.

mjp

I would take the team named in the media with a huge warning sign from both sides. Micheal Donoghue isn't going to show his hand too much to Davy &co so wouldn't expect him to name and changes he plans to public until just before throw in.

Looks like it could be a wet day in thurles. Hopefully suit our more physical side

Redo91

What date is the semi?

wp_rathead

So playing Tipp in the football and hurling

Redo91 wrote: »

What date is the semi?

14th August

Lollipop95

Galway are well capable of beating Tipp imo. We did it last year and we can do it again! In the past, dying out in the second half has been a Galway trait but that didn't happen to the team today - they held their own very well and were ruthless. I honestly think we can get to the final. Whether we can finally win it again or not is another question that probably won't be answered until the second half of the final in September

from_atozinc

Got the win today. I thought backs were mighty. Forwards tackling was very good. Callanan had 2 good saves.

Overall, not bad at all.

Limestone Cowboy

Well done today, ye were fully deserving of the win. I think a 6 point defeat flattered us in the end because we seemed to be outplayed across the pitch.

Diabhal Beag

It's hard to put into words the relief that the Thurles fear might be dead and buried. Similar to last year against Cork, Tipp will be much more difficult and won't limit their FF-line to 2 men.

That said Harte, Daithi, Cathal Mannion and in particular Johnny Coen were very impressive. Coen in midfield is a different player altogether. Happy he proved me wrong.

Great 7 days for Galway GAA. Long may it continue! And **** Thurles traffic.

donnem33

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

It's hard to put into words the relief that the Thurles fear might be dead and buried. Similar to last year against Cork, Tipp will be much more difficult and won't limit their FF-line to 2 men.

That said Harte, Daithi, Cathal Mannion and in particular Johnny Coen were very impressive. Coen in midfield is a different player altogether. Happy he proved me wrong.

Great 7 days for Galway GAA. Long may it continue! And **** Thurles traffic.

really hate going to thurles - a real miserable drive!!

very gutsy performance today and real character building! all the criticism appears to have galvanized them and they will be quietly confident of beating tipp. the form of some of the forwards is a worry but still have plenty of time to sort that out!

windy shepard henderson

well done today lads ,wasnt just a great team performance it was a great squad performance

knew driving up to the football in salthill yesterday what the mood in south galway was giving the amount of flags out , today there was real hunger in the galway performance , most breaking ball situations and rucks were won by galway men it was a fantastic performance especially the first half

we take little notice of the likes of ger loughnans comments ,he is always criticizing someone in his star column or on the sunday game more often then not it is either clare or tipp . but you could see in michael o'donoghues interview after the game that it had touched a nerve in the galway camp, watching the great interview canning did afterwards i hope he wins an all ireland , if not this year then next year .....whenever , its a young team and plenty of time , ye have every chance against tipp the next day too i would'nt begrudge ye after today to win it out

Borders no.2

Strong performance. Wasn't without its flaws but by far and away the better team. From the off we were in control. The backline functioned well and we kept Clare's forward under wraps quite comfortably in the first half apart from a couple of direct runs where we had to foul. My worry about the 2nd half was we faded badly and it was scary to see Clare move within 4/5 with 10 minutes left. The game should have been dead and buried at that stage but we looked heavy legged at that stage which is a worry. We re-gathered ourselves but 6 points was no reflection of our dominance which is good but also a worry.

Daithi Burke turned in a superb performance, Aidan Harte swept up a world of ball. Some of his deliveries in the 2nd half were aimless and contributed to us letting Clare back into it but overall he had a fine game. Thought Gearoid McInerney did quite well but as we step up another level not too sure about him. Tuohy was a mixed bag, not convinced of him ahead of bigger challenges. Johnny Coen's switch to the middle sector paid immediate dividends as was flagged by everyone. Up front there has to be more to come from everyone really if we hope to beat Tipp. Joseph Cooney had a good game I thought, still not sold on him but he's improving each game. The lack of impact we have to bring off the bench worries me slightly as we move forward.

It's a great feeling leaving Thurles after another win after so many years of disappointments, collapses and heartaches (especially after losing the All-Ireland the year before) but the real stuff starts from here. We have now established ourselves as a nailed on Top 4 side which for years we struggled to do. Today we saw clearly how far back the likes of Clare, Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Wexford etc. have fallen. You'd expect those teams to bounce back. All are likely to have new management but hopefully we'll get two great semi-finals to rescue what's been a drab hurling year.

Lot of question marks over us heading into the Tipp game. We were far the better team against Tipp last year but relied on Colm Callanan's heroics to get us through, Tipp look a far more cohesive and battle hardened side this year. We probably aren't going into the semi-final in great form but it's great to be there and it should be a cracker.

seligehgit

windy shepard henderson wrote: »

well done today lads ,wasnt just a great team performance it was a great squad performance

knew driving up to the football in salthill yesterday what the mood in south galway was giving the amount of flags out , today there was real hunger in the galway performance , most breaking ball situations and rucks were won by galway men it was a fantastic performance especially the first half

we take little notice of the likes of ger loughnans comments ,he is always criticizing someone in his star column or on the sunday game more often then not it is either clare or tipp . but you could see in michael o'donoghues interview after the game that it had touched a nerve in the galway camp, watching the great interview canning did afterwards i hope he wins an all ireland , if not this year then next year .....whenever , its a young team and plenty of time , ye have every chance against tipp the next day too i would'nt begrudge ye after today to win it out

Yes,Joe Canning did a wonderful interview afterwards,he went up an even higher notch in my estimation.Hope you win the hurling and leave the football to your close neighbours.:)Great times for Galway GAA.

PressRun

seligehgit wrote: »

Yes,Joe Canning did a wonderful interview afterwards,he went up an even higher notch in my estimation.Hope you win the hurling and leave the football to your close neighbours.:)Great times for Galway GAA.

Agreed. Have always liked Joe and have always rooted for the Galway hurlers, but I'd so love to see them, and especially him, get an All-Ireland this year. Loughnane's comments after the Kilkenny match were way over the top too, so I'm glad they shut his bull**** down.

windy shepard henderson

PressRun wrote: »

Agreed. Have always liked Joe and have always rooted for the Galway hurlers, but I'd so love to see them, and especially him, get an All-Ireland this year. Loughnane's comments after the Kilkenny match were way over the top too, so I'm glad they shut his bull**** down.

loughnane has been a disgrace since clare won back in 2013 , he has constantly rubed it in to tipperary since for no reason , and as you all well know in recent times picked on galway ....from my point of view to get them back for his time in charge ?? ...which is nobodys fault but his own

galway have made 2 of the last 4 all irelands and back in another semi final yet not a word about his native county who have barely made it past the qualifiers of late , i didnt see what he had to say about clare today but no doubt it was not on the same scale as the ****e he said about galway 3 weeks ago

aidan24326

donnem33 wrote: »

very gutsy performance today and real character building! all the criticism appears to have galvanized them and they will be quietly confident of beating tipp. the form of some of the forwards is a worry but still have plenty of time to sort that out!

For me the form of some of the forwards is a real worry. We were all calling for Jason Flynn's inclusion but he was completely off the pace today and looks a shadow of the player he was last year.

Cathal Mannion worked hard but has a tendency to overplay the ball and he isn't hitting the heights of last year either. Conor Whelan works hard but we need a bit more end product from him and Conor Cooney was disappointing again. The two forwards who impressed today were Joe Canning and Joseph Cooney. But the forwards in general aren't firing at the moment.

On the plus side the backs were immense. Daithi Burke deservedly motm, Aidan Harte got on a lot of ball and Johnny Coen was really good out around the middle. Padraig Mannion was good too. But to beat Tipp we'll need a much bigger game from the likes of Cathal Mannion and Flynn. They scored 1 point between them today, that will surely need to be at least 5 or 6 if we're to have any chance of beating Tipp.

MfMan

aidan24326 wrote: »

For me the form of some of the forwards is a real worry. We were all calling for Jason Flynn's inclusion but he was completely off the pace today and looks a shadow of the player he was last year.

Cathal Mannion worked hard but has a tendency to overplay the ball and he isn't hitting the heights of last year either. Conor Whelan works hard but we need a bit more end product from him and Conor Cooney was disappointing again. The two forwards who impressed today were Joe Canning and Joseph Cooney. But the forwards in general aren't firing at the moment.

On the plus side the backs were immense. Daithi Burke deservedly motm, Aidan Harte got on a lot of ball and Johnny Coen was really good out around the middle. Padraig Mannion was good too. But to beat Tipp we'll need a much bigger game from the likes of Cathal Mannion and Flynn. They scored 1 point between them today, that will surely need to be at least 5 or 6 if we're to have any chance of beating Tipp.

Yes to all of this. I think Flynn suffered a bit from lack of match sharpness, was hoping he'd convert a few more of his chances to give him a confidence shot. Would still start him the next day though. Cathal Mannion does indeed need to be a bit more decisive in possession, maybe being from an Intermediate club hinders his development a little. However his display v KK shows what he can do. Wouldn't worry about Whelan as much, he's ballsy enough. Conor Cooney, very good skill but, again, the year out may have robbed him of match sharpness and pace (he was never overly fast anyway.) As a critic of his, thought Joe Cooney was good yesterday but can up it a bit more again, as they all can. Need to move quicker and with more slickness the next day. However, if it's anything like typical Galway/Tipp encounters, I think our forwards will get more room to express themselves. Niall Burke must have dropped down the pecking order not to have made an appearance. I take the credit for Coen's move to midfield, as I advised here in the past! It suits him better and strengthens this area. Why was he subbed? And why replace him with an older man? What was wrong with Paul Killeen?
Wonder will mgmt persist with playing Harte as a spare man again? Certainly had maybe his best day in maroon, but needs to make sure that his deliveries find their target. Daithi emerging now as a real colossus and bulwark. I guess the semi' on August 14 will be a Senior/Minor double?

As for the football, I though Derry were a bit unlucky in that they lost an important player (Heavron) to injury late on - he might have made the difference to the result had he remained. Tipp are handy though and their Munster final appearance (and Clonmel successes) can't be discounted. Just think Galway, if they maintain their current trajectory, will be defensively better than Derry and their forwards a bit more threatening and craftier too.

If I was given one now though, I'd take the hurling, still like another crack at KK.

aidan24326

MfMan wrote: »

Yes to all of this. I think Flynn suffered a bit from lack of match sharpness, was hoping he'd convert a few more of his chances to give him a confidence shot. Would still start him the next day though. Cathal Mannion does indeed need to be a bit more decisive in possession, maybe being from an Intermediate club hinders his development a little. However his display v KK shows what he can do. Wouldn't worry about Whelan as much, he's ballsy enough. Conor Cooney, very good skill but, again, the year out may have robbed him of match sharpness and pace (he was never overly fast anyway.) As a critic of his, thought Joe Cooney was good yesterday but can up it a bit more again, as they all can. Need to move quicker and with more slickness the next day. However, if it's anything like typical Galway/Tipp encounters, I think our forwards will get more room to express themselves. Niall Burke must have dropped down the pecking order not to have made an appearance. I take the credit for Coen's move to midfield, as I advised here in the past! It suits him better and strengthens this area. Why was he subbed? And why replace him with an older man? What was wrong with Paul Killeen?
Wonder will mgmt persist with playing Harte as a spare man again? Certainly had maybe his best day in maroon, but needs to make sure that his deliveries find their target. Daithi emerging now as a real colossus and bulwark. I guess the semi' on August 14 will be a Senior/Minor double?

As for the football, I though Derry were a bit unlucky in that they lost an important player (Heavron) to injury late on - he might have made the difference to the result had he remained. Tipp are handy though and their Munster final appearance (and Clonmel successes) can't be discounted. Just think Galway, if they maintain their current trajectory, will be defensively better than Derry and their forwards a bit more threatening and craftier too.

If I was given one now though, I'd take the hurling, still like another crack at KK.

This is the only bit I'd slightly go against. I'm getting a little more excited about the footballers at the moment. For all that the hurlers had a good win on Sunday and might even beat Tipp again, I wouldn't give us much hope in another final against Kilkenny. They absolutely have Galway's measure and it's really difficult to see how we can turn that around.

Not saying it's impossible but I think KK know they have Galway in their back pocket at this stage and they seem to be able to just go up a gear when they need to. It would be a sweeter one to win than the football for sure but at the moment I'm struggling to see how we'll stop that juggernaut.

The footballers will hardly win the All-Ireland but a win next Sunday sets up a semi final against probably Mayo or Tyrone and that will be very interesting. Without getting carried away there has been an awful lot to like about what we've seen in the last couple of games especially defensively, an area where we'd struggled for years. I won't be taking the result for granted on Sunday as Tipp are no mugs but I'll confidently predict that they won't score 1-21 against this Galway defence. They got some very soft scores against Derry.

Even when Conor Sweeney kicked the winner at the end there wasn't a Derry player within 10 yards of him which was baffling.

basillarkin

coen while great going forward was caught out a number of times in defense. this is why he got the line imo

Mr Velo

Where's a good place to park on Sunday? I normally go to the QPark in Marlborough Street, but the Luas works are going to cause chaos in Dublin this weekend.

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-traffic-chaos-expected-over-11667668

Paddico

I think Galway footballers are only two or three years from an All Ireland win. If ye beat us Sunday the I'll be shouting for ye but think the Dubs and Kerry are far too strong at the moment.

As regards Sunday, Galway have come on in leaps and bounds. We had a very poor league but we really have come on in the championship. I think it will be very close with yourselves to shade it. We have some great firepower but we're still quite weak on the full back line.

Angry bird

A bit of a dilemma, albeit a nice one. I can go to either the football quarter final or the hurling semi final but not both? What do ye think? I get enjoyment out of both codes.

Angry bird

Couldn't form much of an opinion of the hurling till midweek as we were stuck on one of the terraces at a low level last week..... Not sure I've ever been there for a hurling match before. Maybe once. So couldn't say much about the shape of form of individual players as good as my usual view.

Watched it back again midweek to get a better view point.

Lots to please.

I had wrote Tuohy off after the Cork play off.
He was atrocious that day, was directly responsible for something like 4/5 of Corks first 8 scores... not following runners etc
He seemed a very placid person that day but was a different proposition against Clare, has that tenacious streak needed.

Thought his point attempt should have went to Hawkeye, it's implementation is a joke tbh. Clare had a suspect point too yet they only called it for the most central shot yet(since its introduction).

If that 6th forward doesn't put up his hand in the semi final and we win, I'd reinstate someone like Andy Smyth for the middle quarter as both Flynn and Burke has given us back to back stinkers.

While Clares set up dictated we sat with a spare man, I think it would be foolish to approach the KK game the same as the last few and go straight up man to man, there's too much of a trend of familiarity to how our games go and those who don't learn from the past are destined to make the same mistakes in the future.

The forwards working hard is one part of it, but leaving too much space in your backline is asking for trouble regardless of the forwards work rate.

Maybe Canning coming back to HB like the last day is the change that persists to avoid any potential repeats against KK should we make it there.

Angry bird wrote: »

A bit of a dilemma, albeit a nice one. I can go to either the football quarter final or the hurling semi final but not both? What do ye think? I get enjoyment out of both codes.

I'm personally looking forward to the football more tbh.

A great shot at an AI final where I believe we'd have less chance(against Dub) but still the freshness in it, we haven't had high hopes in a quarter final since 2005(a sad day against Cork)

paintitwhite

http://www.gaa.ie/football/news/shane-walsh-this-team-means-the-world/

Good interview from Shane Walsh

Diabhal Beag

Angry bird wrote: »

A bit of a dilemma, albeit a nice one. I can go to either the football quarter final or the hurling semi final but not both? What do ye think? I get enjoyment out of both codes.

Personally I feel a lot more optimistic about the footballers than the hurlers. To go from narrowly beating Waterford at home in a qualifier to a potential All-Ireland semi-finalist is some progress. Very nervy about Tipp tomorrow though.
Plus it's a bank holiday the next day!

Utopia Parkway

Minor footballers into semi-finals vs Donegal

Galway 3-10 Laois 0-12

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Busy motorway

Hopefully Kevin Walsh just resigns.

While the second half was a shambles all over, it all materialised from the same **** I'm beating on about all year and last year.
Kicking the ball out long and having no strategy for high percentage retainments'.

And then to make it worse we let teams kick simple passes to their corner backs.

If you've no kick out strategy you're not beating anyone of note.

Utopia Parkway

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Hopefully Kevin Walsh just resigns.

While the second half was a shambles all over, it all materialised from the same **** I'm beating on about all year and last year.
Kicking the ball out long and having no strategy for high percentage retainments'.

And then to make it worse we let teams kick simple passes to their corner backs.

If you've no kick out strategy you're not beating anyone of note.

In fairness Tipp pushed up on the Galway backs so there wasn't really any short kickouts available. Tipp just backed themselves to win enough ball in midfield and they did. They crowded out Flynn and Conroy and won more breaking ball.

On the other hand you're right about Tipp's kickouts. Galway just let them have it short if they wanted.

Either way all good work for the year down the drain. Even a first Connacht title in 8 years means feck all now after a performance like that.

Utopia Parkway

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

In fairness Tipp pushed up on the Galway backs so there wasn't really any short kickouts available. Tipp just backed themselves to win enough ball in midfield and they did. They crowded out Flynn and Conroy and won more breaking ball.

On the other hand you're right about Tipp's kickouts. Galway just let them have it short if they wanted.

I get they pushed up but the plan B should never be to kick it to midfield.

When the Dubs of this world have to go long, they open space on the wings at HB and drop it in front of a player with 5 yards on his man.

That's the definition of a long kick out in the modern game, a 60:40 to your player in a 1v1.

At the end of the day, if you brought all your players back into your half the opposition wont bring their defenders up so you can kick it to a place with extra players.

At any rate KW has put no stock into copying the blue print of the modern teams.

We lost more than half of our kick outs in the first half and that's just not acceptable when you're controlling where it goes and when.

Same against Mayo, Roscommon and everyone else we play since he took over while we make it easy for opposition with corner backs left free.

from_atozinc

It's bad enough for Tipp to beat us in hurling. But to Beat the crap out of us in Football, I dunno.

Borders no.2

First of all full credit to Tipp. They played superb football and the scoreline doesn't do justice to their superiority. The wins in Connacht blinded us to the failings of this team. Roscommon allowed us look good with their slow build up approach and the mayo result was as much down to them taking their eye off the ball as anything. Tipp played an excellent kucking and running game and physically dominated us. Where do we begin building a team from after that I don't know. Another few years of misery to go through before we might rise again. Serious look needed at football in the county. Good as tipp were today in the overall scheme of things they couldnt get out of div 3 and 2 years ago we comfortably dispensed with them in tullamore. Since then they've lost some key players too. Galway were always seen as a croke park team but we were poor against donegal last year and today has to go down as one of galway footballs worst days in croke park. Its time we looked at proper underage setups. Putting the likes of Gerry Fahy in charge of the u21s was an insult to the lads who put in the time and effort. Likewise much of a legend as Kevin Walsh was as a player, the lack of any change in dynamic or personnel until the game was over was further evidence of the lack of any real tactical nous on the sidelines. Even their manner when contrasted with the fired up tipp management told a story. Back to square 1 but tipp deserve huge credit for their display. Hopefully the hurlers turn the tables in 2 weeks.

threeball

Most disappointed I've ever been leaving Croke Park and that's saying something. The team looked like one that believed that showing up was enough to win.
How we could leave the defence so isolated while simultaneously conspiring to loose mid field I'll never know. Why didn't they take brannigan off and stick finian Hanley in as a 3Rd full back who could also push out to win kickouts when we had possession
It was unbelievably bad on the pitch and on the line.
The only light at the end of a dark dark tunnel is Damien Comer. The man deserves huge plaudits for both his skill and determination to pull a failing team over the line
Well done to Tipp. Hope they can give the semi a good rattle but it'll be a big step up from what we offered

Diabhal Beag

This utter tripe about "being a team suited to Croke Park" was so nauseating considering how little we've done since 2001. That does rub off on players too and you could see how gutless they were in that second half. Hunger was non-existent.

The only guys I would defend are Kyne, Power, Cummins and Comer. I know the first two made blunders but they were at least trying and giving what limited talent they have. You can't really ask for more and Kyne was a scapegoat for awful defensive strategy marking one of the best aerial targets in the game. Power was letdown by no kickout plans. Cummins missing that goal chance was bad but he was given no ball and still scored 3 from play. Comer is a workhorse and never gave up. Had some harsh decisions go against him.

The kickouts are something we've complained about for years and all the points have been made. Not marking defenders for quick kickouts cost us dearly today and it was only after we had 2 goals conceded that Walsh and co moved to tighten things up. That's inexcusable. We were cleaned out all day in midfield and won no breaking ball.

A Connacht win is all well and good but we still have that QF bottler mentality since 2001 and it's not going away any time soon. Same story different decade sadly.