Galway GAA discussion thread

nootroc

Well done Portumna. Hard luck to Kilnadeema Leitrim.A tough few days for all the people around there. Losing a game isn't the worst thing that could happen as they well know.

Borders no.2

Great stuff from Portumna, showed great hunger and looked very composed throughout. Na Piarsaigh were dissapointing, thought they would offer a lot more. It never looked in doubt. Joe Canning got through a mountain of work and Ollie showed once again that class is permanent. Thought Dolphin at centre back did well also.

Only saw parts of the other semi but Mount Leinster Rangers have earned huge respect at this stage. They have 3 big scalps to their name now. There will be huge hype about them going into the final and its great to see. However, Portumna will know they have history at their fingertips and I'd be very surprised if they don't finish the job now.

Hard luck to Kilnadeema/Leitrim, they represented their parish and the county very well. As nootroc says above the loss fades into insignificance with the news during the week.

Borders no.2

gilberto_eire wrote: »

My lord...

If he puts out the same team again that gave up 10 goal chances in the first half alone then he's even more clueless than Cunningham was in last years league.

I'd nearly even give him 14 of them, but ffs what is Higgins doing in there again.
I'd be embarrassed if I was on the bench and he was starting ahead of me.

Colm Keys wrote a report for the Meath game in the Indo, he seemed to give ratings at the end beside the players names(it wasn't clear, just a number stuck directly beside them without even a comma though it matched who did well) Higgins, out of everyone who played had nothing beside his.... fitting.

Its hard on Greg Higgins as he's an honest fella doing his best but I think the vast majority of people who watch football in the county can't believe he's still on the panel not to mind starting in such a key position.

To me the half back line looks lightweight, they are all good players in their own right but as a unit it just looks unbalanced.

I honestly have yet to see any evidence that Mulholland is the man for the job and each week more evidence is deposited to support this belief.

Donegal put 2-19 on Laois last weekend, I find it hard to see that Galway team fronting up to Donegal to any meaningful extent. I really hope I'm wrong as its a young Galway panel who need a decent year this year to try and build towards the future.

cson

Only 1800 in Thurles including meself

The greatest club hurling side in history, even if I am a little bit biased. The tactics and just general skill in dealing with playing against that wind in the first half was incredible.

basillarkin

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Great stuff from Portumna, showed great hunger and looked very composed throughout. Na Piarsaigh were dissapointing, thought they would offer a lot more. It never looked in doubt. Joe Canning got through a mountain of work and Ollie showed once again that class is permanent. Thought Dolphin at centre back did well also.

Only saw parts of the other semi but Mount Leinster Rangers have earned huge respect at this stage. They have 3 big scalps to their name now. There will be huge hype about them going into the final and its great to see. However, Portumna will know they have history at their fingertips and I'd be very surprised if they don't finish the job now.

Hard luck to Kilnadeema/Leitrim, they represented their parish and the county very well. As nootroc says above the loss fades into insignificance with the news during the week.

You fail to mention young O'Meara who I thought was outstanding especially in the first half, my motm.

Diabhal Beag

Ollie was superb in the half hour I watched. It's gutting to this day to look back at Tipp in '10. He'd probably still walk onto the current panel if he wanted, especially since his reawakening at HF. The free he drew near the end was such a sign of class.

Big game in the stadium today. Pitch was inspected earlier. Will absolutely lash in the next 10 minutes.

Diabhal Beag

The most important thing in the football is just getting better defensively, so not giving up 20 goal chances again is the aim.
That will be a bit harder if he puts Higgins back to CB again, hopefully there's a change or two before KO to rectify this.

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Ollie was superb in the half hour I watched. It's gutting to this day to look back at Tipp in '10. He'd probably still walk onto the current panel if he wanted, especially since his reawakening at HF. The free he drew near the end was such a sign of class.

Big game in the stadium today. Pitch was inspected earlier. Will absolutely lash in the next 10 minutes.

It was, though I'd also say that it was one of the most ridicules decisions I've seen a player make with the sides as they were and time remaining.

They got a goal back and got themselves a bit of momentum and he chops to put it back to two scores which they were never going to make up.
It's not even close to being a good challenge, it's a yellow all day, just a complete brain-dead thing to do.

On the penalty as well I believe there was a high fend off just before it was handpassed to the player fouled, they didn't show a replay but one of the Piarsaigh players had a very obvious push to the face of one of the Portumna players.

Funny that nobody mentioned Cannings pull?.
That was the turning point, if he walked there, as he should have done, I doubt they'd have won.
Amazing that the ref saw it, but deems it only a bookable offence.
Very silly thing for him to do and in all fairness I don't remember seeing him do it before despite the attention he draws.

Still though in a club semi final with only 20mins gone and over something so silly, he shouldn't have put himself in that position.

Also my pet gripe with GAA, the added time issue raised its head again yesterday.

1min of injury time at the end of both halves?, I counted 30seconds between the ball going out of play and landing back in after a Canning side line cut in the second half.
Not to mention the various 40-60 second frees. Really irritates me that so much time is wasted in these already short games.
The sooner we get a stop clock the better, it will speed the game up as you're less likely to take your time to take a free if you're not killing the time.

randd1

gilberto_eire wrote: »

The most important thing in the football is just getting better defensively, so not giving up 20 goal chances again is the aim.
That will be a bit harder if he puts Higgins back to CB again, hopefully there's a change or two before KO to rectify this.



It was, though I'd also say that it was one of the most ridicules decisions I've seen a player make with the sides as they were and time remaining.

They got a goal back and got themselves a bit of momentum and he chops to put it back to two scores which they were never going to make up.
It's not even close to being a good challenge, it's a yellow all day, just a complete brain-dead thing to do.

On the penalty as well I believe there was a high fend off just before it was handpassed to the player fouled, they didn't show a replay but one of the Piarsaigh players had a very obvious push to the face of one of the Portumna players.

Funny that nobody mentioned Cannings pull?.
That was the turning point, if he walked there, as he should have done, I doubt they'd have won.
Amazing that the ref saw it, but deems it only a bookable offence.
Very silly thing for him to do and in all fairness I don't remember seeing him do it before despite the attention he draws.

It was a bad stroke and he should have walked, definitely, I honestly can't see how the ref could have let him off if he saw it, it was a deliberate stroke across a player. Considering the same ref sent off Horgan for much less in the summer, and Donnellan for something similar in the 2012 AI final, it was surprising. I think Joe's reputation saved him there.

That said, one of the Na Piarsigh lads pulled straight across Ollie Cannings hand as he has going through, a dirty stroke that could have caused injury, and he only got a booking. Swings and roundabouts.

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Still though in a club semi final with only 20mins gone and over something so silly, he shouldn't have put himself in that position.

Also my pet gripe with GAA, the added time issue raised its head again yesterday.

1min of injury time at the end of both halves?, I counted 30seconds between the ball going out of play and landing back in after a Canning side line cut in the second half.
Not to mention the various 40-60 second frees. Really irritates me that so much time is wasted in these already short games.
The sooner we get a stop clock the better, it will speed the game up as you're less likely to take your time to take a free if you're not killing the time.

randd1

randd1 wrote: »

It was a bad stroke and he should have walked, definitely, I honestly can't see how the ref could have let him off if he saw it, it was a deliberate stroke across a player. Considering the same ref sent off Horgan for much less in the summer, and Donnellan for something similar in the 2012 AI final, it was surprising. I think Joe's reputation saved him there.

That said, one of the Na Piarsigh lads pulled straight across Ollie Cannings hand as he has going through, a dirty stroke that could have caused injury, and he only got a booking. Swings and roundabouts.

Ya, considering he blew it.
It made no sense to book him.

What I would say in relation to the stroke on Ollie, is that at least he had the ball.
I wouldn't say it was in the same bracket as Canning who just blatantly struck out off the ball.

I think that lad giving away the free alone was punishment enough as it put two scores in it which ended it for them.

Amazing to think they're going for 4 AI's now and they only won their first Galway in recent times.

Another rubbish performance.

We'll be lucky to win one game in this league, D3 beckons.

Monaghan hammered Meath as well so that makes last week look even worse now.

Diabhal Beag

Not good. Galway were hopeless from their own kickouts. Breathnach has no range as it is and the expect him to get it halfway in the wind with Gallagher in front.

Hanley looked very bad when he was injured. Screaming down the sideline. Might be out for a while. Joss Moore was actually pretty good though so I assume he'll be FB.

Conroy had a very poor game by his standards. Army was so poor. Handpassing in that first half was woeful. Kavanagh gave away so much ball but he settled in the last 20 in a midfield position.

They were beaten when McFadden got his goal. A million handpasses in the buildup.

Thought Tierney was good when he came on. Eoin Concannon was excellent and linked up with Flynn well. Flynn was the only guy who seemed to have any thought in how to break through the blanket by using the flanks but guys like Army would run straight into the crowd of Donegal backs.

Danny came on very late and looked lively considering. Donegal never needed to leave 2nd gear and were by far the better side. Murphy scored one outrageous free in the corner.

Can't see us staying up.

Borders no.2

Another very poor display from the footballers. The 2nd half was marginally better but Donegal were happy to just invite Galway on and pick them off on the counter attack. I really don't know where this team goes from here. The young players have a long way to go and as has been the case for the past number of years the senior players are offering zero leadership. Bradshaw in particular didn't want to be there. Donegal looked a well drilled outfit playing comfortably within themselves. Galway were a mess.

Better news from the hurling, having watched the final last year Munster under Liam Sheedy took it very seriously so for Galway (effectively) to beat them today with a scratch team is a welcome boost. After last year's approach its good to see some new players blooded early in the year. You might only get 1 or 2 additions to the panel but at least these lads will get some exposure to inter-county hurling.

aidan24326

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Well I don't like singling players out but I think at this stage everyone knows that Greg Higgins is far too slow and ponderous for intercounty football.

Galway managers picked Cullinane at midfield also for a long time, a guy who is also slow, ponderous and lacking in football ability.

Robert Hughes from Menlough (last year's intermediate player of the year) is a guy with pace, mobility, fielding ability, excellent footballing ability and can kick a score from anywhere.

Utopia Parkway

Away to Laois next. Almost a must win game. Hard to see them staying up if they lose the first 3 games.

Redsoxfan

Tough day for ye lads. I wasn't that impressed with our display to be honest. Ye gave us a better game than Laois did, but I was surprised that they beat Louth in Drogheda today. Pearse Stadium is a fine ground.

Lookitnow

Next two weeks could make or break our season. We really have to start winning games. 7 points has to be the minimum from the Laois, Armagh, Down and Louth games. We need a 70 minute performance against Laois. There are some serious problems but these can be worked on and improved. Kick outs can be worked on, tackling can be worked on for example. Time for the likes of Flynn, Duane, Moore, Cummins etc to really up it a notch. The young lads excuse is beginning to wear thin.

Stanza2

Is Cummins fit?

aidan24326

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Away to Laois next. Almost a must win game. Hard to see them staying up if they lose the first 3 games.

Defeat there will certainly make it an uphill battle against relegation.

Monaghan hammering Meath doesn't make last week's result look any better either.

Hate to be negative but Galway's performances over the last few years have been at a division 3 level anyway, so it would hardly be the shock of the century if we did get relegated.

spiritcrusher

Really don't know what to make of Galway football right now. A few years ago it certainly was a case of the footballers just simply not being there but I don't think that's true any more. There were flashes of talent yesterday but stupid mistakes, poor passes and no real creativity from players and sideline was what really killed any Galway comeback in the second half.
I was particularly disappointed with the lack of meaningful tactical adjustments from the sideline. Donegal's defending was like a very fast paced, impenetrable wall along the half back line that we stupidly kept trying to run through. While Donegal worked that incredibly effectively, there was regularly space in behind that half back line wall to play someone through for easier scores. Part of why Galway didn't do that was due to the speed of the Donegal backs in closing down and their excellent tackling but also no one on the Galway side seemed to be aware of it either! Very frustrating to watch. We're very naive.

Some positives are Paul Varley who I thought was decent in defence and a definite threat going forward, Flynn looks good in midfield if Breathnach can sort those awful kickouts, Moore held up ok after Hanley went off and there were one or two glimpses of potential from the forwards.
I also think a lot of our negatives are correctable if Mulholland and co. are good enough. Simple stuff like getting more players to support the man on the ball as they're facing into tackles, forwards actually moving around to spread the defence and get into space (they're certainly quick enough), working on distribution from midfield (lost count of how many times Kavanagh won a breaking ball well only to poorly give it away) and mix up those kickouts.

jossnjuice

anyone any idea if Galway - Dub at the weekend will survive the weather? wouldnt be too confident myself, but coming down overnight from Dublin for it myself, one way or tother.

Back story - Live in Dublin - All Family from Galway - support Galway, now coming down with my mates who are dubs supporters......in my galway finery..........

dont know how good pearse would be at drying out?

TheCoolWay

jossnjuice wrote: »

anyone any idea if Galway - Dub at the weekend will survive the weather? wouldnt be too confident myself, but coming down overnight from Dublin for it myself, one way or tother.

Back story - Live in Dublin - All Family from Galway - support Galway, now coming down with my mates who are dubs supporters......in my galway finery..........

dont know how good pearse would be at drying out?

I reckon it will be on. Weather hasn't been that bad down here

fearruanua

TheCoolWay wrote: »

I reckon it will be on. Weather hasn't been that bad down here

Joekers

fearruanua wrote: »

You seem to think otherwise ? :pac:

Diabhal Beag

Meant to be bad again tonight. But Saturday and Sunday morning weren't great and the Donegal match went ahead.

galwaylad14

I can't see it being called off lads. Anyone have a guess at a team? Really hope he sticks with Tan centre back

Redsoxfan

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Meant to be bad again tonight. But Saturday and Sunday morning weren't great and the Donegal match went ahead.

Yep. Passed pitch inspection on Saturday at 5pm and on Sunday at 8.30am.

Tuam was on standby.

galwaylad14

Team is as follows:
Colm Callanan (Kinvara); Fergal Moore (Turloughmore), Ronan Burke (Turloughmore), Johnny Coen (Loughrea); David Collins (Liam Mellowes), Iarla Tannian (Ardrahan), Aidan Harte (Gort); David Burke (St Thomas), Padraig Brehony (Tynagh Abbey-Duniry); Cathal Mannion (Ahascragh-Fohenagh), Jonathan Glynn (Ardrahan), Davy Glennon (Mullagh); Niall Healy (Craughwell), Conor Cooney (St Thomas), Jason Flynn (Tommy Larkins).

Thoughts?
I like the look of the backs, not so sure on the forwards but I suppose when you take the 3 Portumna boys out its always going to make the forward line look a bit weaker.

MfMan

It might do for Sunday, but long-term, nos. 6, 7, 11, won't do. David Burke has finally to step up and show he can run a game and I fear the great-hearted Moore and Collins' legs will be found out on faster ground. Good to see the promising Brehony, Mannion, Ronan Burke and Flynn get starts. The Portumna 3 realistically are only 1. Lot of pressure on Cunningham to deliver in his third year but if Galway win even one puck-out this year it will be an improvement on 2013!

galwaylad14

I really can't agree with a lot of what you're saying! In terms of number 6 I've been saying for a long while now that Tan is the man for this role, anyone who has seen his for Ardrahan will know what he can do in that position and as someone else said earlier in this thread, when he won his all star 2 years it was while playing virtually as a centre back.

Ya Aidan Harte at wing back I wouldn't be 100% sure on either, he's good on the ball but I'd worry about his defending and aerial ability against a real top wing forward.
Can't agree with you on Collins and Moore. Collins is 29 and Moore is 31. Look at other sports like soccer and rugby, loads of guys play well into their 30's without any speed issues, with these guys levels of fitness there's no reason they can't do that too. And I can't recall any occasion over the last couple of years where either of these guys has been caught for pace and I don't see that changing now.

I've a feeling we may see Joe at number 11 this year. Or at least I think he'll spend more time here than he has in other years. But Jonny Glynn is a good lad here too, great ball winner and battler.
The Portumna 3 are in no way "just 1". Damien Hayes has been our second best forward over the last 5 years and still has loads to give this team. Smyth is a bundle of energy and always a guy I like to see out on the pitch. All 3 will play a huge role this year.

As always in February, hope springs eternal and I think we'll get a good result over what's a strong Dublin side.

Borders no.2

galwaylad14 wrote: »

Team is as follows:
Colm Callanan (Kinvara); Fergal Moore (Turloughmore), Ronan Burke (Turloughmore), Johnny Coen (Loughrea); David Collins (Liam Mellowes), Iarla Tannian (Ardrahan), Aidan Harte (Gort); David Burke (St Thomas), Padraig Brehony (Tynagh Abbey-Duniry); Cathal Mannion (Ahascragh-Fohenagh), Jonathan Glynn (Ardrahan), Davy Glennon (Mullagh); Niall Healy (Craughwell), Conor Cooney (St Thomas), Jason Flynn (Tommy Larkins).

Thoughts?
I like the look of the backs, not so sure on the forwards but I suppose when you take the 3 Portumna boys out its always going to make the forward line look a bit weaker.

Ronan Burke has impressed at club level and is worth a shot. Tannian at centre back when the pace quickens up I'm not sure about but again at club level he's done well there and there aren't too many viable contenders for that slot.

Jason Grealish did well against Clare last year, about the only one to show up on the day, don't know is he fit or not? If so I'd have him in. David Burke needs to perform this year if Galway hope to do anything, Brehony looked great at minor but hasn't really pushed on. You'd wonder how much ball that half forward line will win. Maybe Flynn will be moved out but have yet to see enough from him to justify the hype. Shane Moloney looks to have fallen off the radar completely which is hugely dissapointing as Galway could do with a presence in attack. We all know what Conor Cooney can do but at Inter County level he's hasn't delivered as of yet.

Tomorrow is a big game for Galway, with trips to Waterford, Kilkenny and Clare to come, two home points are important to get some momentum for the year ahead and help the battered confidence within the squad.

MfMan

galwaylad14 wrote: »

I really can't agree with a lot of what you're saying! In terms of number 6 I've been saying for a long while now that Tan is the man for this role, anyone who has seen his for Ardrahan will know what he can do in that position and as someone else said earlier in this thread, when he won his all star 2 years it was while playing virtually as a centre back.

Ya Aidan Harte at wing back I wouldn't be 100% sure on either, he's good on the ball but I'd worry about his defending and aerial ability against a real top wing forward.
Can't agree with you on Collins and Moore. Collins is 29 and Moore is 31. Look at other sports like soccer and rugby, loads of guys play well into their 30's without any speed issues, with these guys levels of fitness there's no reason they can't do that too. And I can't recall any occasion over the last couple of years where either of these guys has been caught for pace and I don't see that changing now.

I've a feeling we may see Joe at number 11 this year. Or at least I think he'll spend more time here than he has in other years. But Jonny Glynn is a good lad here too, great ball winner and battler.
The Portumna 3 are in no way "just 1". Damien Hayes has been our second best forward over the last 5 years and still has loads to give this team. Smyth is a bundle of energy and always a guy I like to see out on the pitch. All 3 will play a huge role this year.

As always in February, hope springs eternal and I think we'll get a good result over what's a strong Dublin side.

Hope I'm wrong in all I've said, but I don't think Tan as the defensive discipline for no. 6, too attack-minded. Harte and Andy Smith are very alike, better when not starting, and have had plenty of chances over the past number of years now. Glynn may be a good battler but his hurling ability is seriously limited and is one-sided when striking.

Hayes, Moore and Collins have been among our best players for a few years now but none had a great year in 2013; Clare may be the new paradigm for hurling for the next few seasons with their fast and open play. It's hard to see these three having the pace for this type of game.

Where JC plays is practically irrelevant if proper support isn't put around him.

Anyway, at nearly evens for tomorrow, Galway mightn't be too bad a bet to get the league off to a winning start.

galwaylad14

MfMan wrote: »

Hope I'm wrong in all I've said, but I don't think Tan as the defensive discipline for no. 6, too attack-minded. Harte and Andy Smith are very alike, better when not starting, and have had plenty of chances over the past number of years now. Glynn may be a good battler but his hurling ability is seriously limited and is one-sided when striking.

Hayes, Moore and Collins have been among our best players for a few years now but none had a great year in 2013; Clare may be the new paradigm for hurling for the next few seasons with their fast and open play. It's hard to see these three having the pace for this type of game.

Where JC plays is practically irrelevant if proper support isn't put around him.

Anyway, at nearly evens for tomorrow, Galway mightn't be too bad a bet to get the league off to a winning start.

Actually Hayes was very good last year. Scored consistently every time he got a chance. He was treated very badly by the management. Both Moore and Collins were ok last year and neither were among our worst performers in fairness to both.

I actually hadn't thought of Grealish, I presume he's injured? He'll definitley be on the team this year, either at midfield or wing back.

I'm not going to say anymore on Tan, just that I think he'll be our man at centre back and we'll see how it plays out.
Someone mentioned Shane Moloney there above, he's still young (still under 21) but I really don't see it happening for him with the county. Good hurler but I just can't see him ever making it, hard to put a finger on why exactly but he just lacks a bit of pace and he's not a big lad either, I think he'd really struggle to win ball if he was on the team

Diabhal Beag

Not too much to say. Dublin didn't really seem to care too much today. They almost had a goal in the opening minute and were killed off by points.

Ronan Burke and Brehony were very impressive for me. Burke made a great block to deny a goal with his leg. Cooney had a great game and was lethal from the placed ball. Also offered a lot physically in midfield.

Tan was very good at HB and cleaned up a lot. Mannion and Flynn had good games and Johnny Glynn hit two crackers. Healy was excellent too.

Only poor showings for me at times were Glennon and David Burke. Burke isn't suited to intercounty midfield. Glennon doesn't field the ball at all since the League last year and I can't see him being dropped so that's a big issue.

That said a very good start and hopefully we've found a new free-taker instead of Joe, who can be liable to miss from long range.

Borders no.2

The game was over a long way before half time. Dublin looked off the pace for whatever reason, they have been a bit boom/bust in the last few years. It'll be interesting to see is this a blip or are they going to struggle this year. Galway will never have things as easy again but its a confidence boost for the panel as a whole. Still plenty to work on despite the win but Waterford next up will give us a better indication.

Good win for Connacht in the Railway Cup also, on the radio saying there were about 100 people at it. Pity as it sounded like a cracker.

Utopia Parkway

Good win today. R Burke, Brehony, Mannion and Flynn all played very well. Niall Healy scored 0-5 from play. Tan good at 6. Dublin were awful though. Maybe in the middle of heavy training but Galway can only beat who's in front of them.

T0001

Where were these 28 points least year when we scoring goals?

Far too much focus last year on getting goals. Too many chances wasted hitting in around the house. Great to see lads taking their score and keeping the scoreboard tocking over.

Very poor Dublin performance. Confidence will rise on the Galway panel after today. I hope when the Portumna lads are available again the management don't dump all the debutants onto the bench. Cathal Mannion had a great day as did J. Flynn and P. Brehony.

Davy Glennon is not a finisher. He has had great chances last year for goals but when it comes to it he lacks the power to finish it.

Syferus

Thought Dogtanian (as the oul fella calls him) was stellar today. Seems likely whenever Tanian gets going Galway gets going. Very important player for ye.

Red Pepper

who was full back for Galway today? He did well.

Utopia Parkway

Red Pepper wrote: »

who was full back for Galway today? He did well.

Turloughmore's Ronan Burke.

His spot to lose now. Cunningham's original plan this year was to play Niall O'Donoghue (god rest his soul) at full-back.

windy shepard henderson

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Turloughmore's Ronan Burke.

His spot to lose now. Cunningham's original plan this year was to play Niall O'Donoghue (god rest his soul) at full-back.

a fitting result infairness to remember niall on galway's first competive game back without him it would be great to see ye win the league (i am sure ye'd like to win somthing bigger but thats for another day ........ ) in his honnor

davey fitz has used galway as the bench mark so far this year after ye gave clare a bit of a cliping in a chalange 2 weeks ago

i always said that other then cork last year the only team to really trouble clare was galway and i expect to see a backlash from all the criticism through the league

the result speeks for its self i would put ye down as early NHL favourites at the moment

wonder88

Great start and result. But it is hard to know the attitude of Dublin today. I saw them getting hammered by Tipp in the league semi-final last year and yet they nearly reached the All-Ireland final after a great championship. So I will wait to next sunday before getting too excited about the hurlers prospect for this year.

Utopia Parkway

wonder88 wrote: »

Great start and result. But it is hard to know the attitude of Dublin today. I saw them getting hammered by Tipp in the league semi-final last year and yet they nearly reached the All-Ireland final after a great championship. So I will wait to next sunday before getting too excited about the hurlers prospect for this year.

Next weekend will be completely different. Waterford are very hard bet on their home patch and they will fight for the entire 70 minutes. Think Dublin lost interest quickly today after falling behind. Or it seemed that way at least.

Fireball07

I wrote Galway off, even put money on them to be relegated but they looked a lot better today. Obviously Dublin were very poor, looked slow and lethargic from 1-15 but Galway, without the Portumna contingent, looked good.


Mannion, in particular, looks a classy hurler. Burke and Tannian as the spine of the defence looked strong and Glynn looked good. Not sure if he's good enough but he impressed today. Healy is another one, can't understand why he wasn't used more last year.

Players like Cooney, Glynn, Smyth, Tannian, Niall Burke, Donnellan, Glennon, even Collins... these are all players who I would consider having big question marks over them. Capable of big performances but not consistent enough imo. Even in 2012, which was a great year, not having lots of scoring forwards was a killer. And last year, ye were just awful.


But ye did well today, and while pretty much everyone else will be better than Dublin were today, it gives you a big chance of making the knockouts.

galwaylad14

Tannian was just superb at centre back I thought, I was delighted for him and I hope he can keep that up now. Ronan Burke at full back was very good too. Up front Healy, Glynn and Mannian were all top class.

Was a really good performance and the quality of shooting was excellent throughout but Dublin were pathetic. It's almost hard to even explain just how bad they were and if they don't improve exponentially then they're certainties for relegation.

But our lads can only beat what's put in front of them and they did that throughout. About the only slight pity was the lack of goal chances we created, apart from the one Flynn scored that was called back for the foul on Healy we didn't really create any good chance. Individually I suppose Davey Glennon wasn't great but I wouldn't worry too much, he'll do it when we need him, he's that type of player.

cson

Saw Tannian playing Centre Back for Ardrahan in the County 1/4s against Portumna and though he was superb that day. Could be the position for him for the County team this year.

wonder88

Is it likely the same team starting on sunday?

Utopia Parkway

wonder88 wrote: »

Is it likely the same team starting on sunday?

Looks like it.

T0001

wonder88 wrote: »

Is it likely the same team starting on sunday?

It is ya. But I don't think they'll be as fluid as they were last week. 1-20 I think is the score they'll need to beat Waterford who on a good day can hit 20-22 scores.

Borders no.2

Tough game tomorrow, Waterford away is always a difficult place to win, another win would be handy with 3 daunting fixtures to come yet. Tomorrow should give us a better indication of where we are at.

Anyone thinking of going to the Railway Cup final in Tuam?

Shame the game isn't on TG4 tomorrow.

Tipp and KK was always going to be the live game, and you wouldnt argue about that. But they've decided to travel to Parnell Pk instead for the deferred coverage game.
If Clare didn't win the AI last year, and seeing Dublin last week, that game wouldn't be on.

Considering there's only 3 games for viewing(doubtful they'd show any 1B game bar the already played Cork/Limerick) it's unfortunate to be left out of a 2/3.

Even if we lost tomorrow, I'm still more optimistic about this year following the Dublin game.

We played the same hurling from the Cork semi, into both AI's and through last years league and AI.
That being, we were continuously hitting balls into areas where there wasn't a forward in sight.
Mainly due to pulling too many back (without a clearly worked transitional tactic on a turnover) more than inaccuracy.

What we saw against Dublin, was at least a return to more shape and numbers in the forward unit.
We had challenges at the end of every ball forward and with that we had a vast number of forwards on the score sheet.

In late 2012 and 2013, we were seeing 1/2 forwards scoring with low returns far too often.
We were very dangerous for goals and conceding few, but this eventually died away and both of those stats reversed for the worse.

To put up 28 points without a goal is a massive change for us, we haven't put up 28 minus a goal in a few years I'd reckon.

Coming into this league, I expected that kind of jump from the footballers. A game unlike last season and a marker set down early of a possible revival.
The footballers are possibly even worse, and the hurlers minus our two main play scorers from those low returns in 2012/13 manage to hit 28.