Galway GAA discussion thread

Utopia Parkway

A pretty poor quality game on a heavy pitch despite the exciting finish. Galway's shooting was dreadful at times from both play and from frees. They can thank Johnny Glynn for the win as he made both goals for them out of nothing. Galway still seem to have no real pattern of play under Cunningham apart from launching the ball high into the forwards and for most of the 2nd half there were only 2 forwards up there with about 4 Clare defenders around them.

Pretty poor at the end there when Flynn was taking his free out by the sideline. He was surrounded by half the Clare backroom team with at least one of them roaring right into his ear. Almost caused a mini-riot.

MfMan

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Just back from the game.

I'd be more worried than happy after that.

First 5/6 minutes were good, getting good ball into the corners to forwards out in front.
Notched a quick 5 points then it regressed from there with spurned goal chances and Flynn hitting 1:4 frees in the first half.

Realistically we should have been out of sight after 20 mins yet found ourselves 2 down with HT approaching.

No ball winners from puck outs again even against a tiny Clare team.
Clare on the other hand managed to hit a lot of easy short ones.
We seem clueless to stop and use the same tactic.

Regan had the miss of the match, similar to C.Cooney in the 2013 Leinster final, he came in off the left, should have went for goal and tried to take a point and missed left, exact same as Cooneys in all aspects.
He looks better than previous years but is still too wasteful, he hit the post with a gather near goal that any top forward is nailing and got blocked in a 2v2 in the 45 when that should be the last thing to happen with all that space.

J.Cooney had a reasonable game, still struggles with ground ball and over cooked a hand pass for our first spurned goal chance and then tried to pull on a shot near the end when 1v1 with the goalie and scuffed it.
He did bag a goal though and was involved a lot.

Pace is still a massive issue.
None of the new additions will address this.
A Clare forward ran from the sideline and got a half sniff at goal due to the slow nature of our team.
There was also another occasion a Clare forward got from one side of the pitch to the other for one of their puck outs that landed in space.

Fortunate to get the points at the end as it came down to Flynn who was having a mare to that point.

Probably the smallest team I've seen in a county game Clare had out, don't think one forward breaks 6".

Seems we're also still rotating forwards, hasn't worked yet and seems ridiculous when ye'r chasing a team late on yet have your best ball winner in midfield while ye aim at Flynn who couldn't out do a lad way smaller than him.

Agree with a lot of this. I came away as depressed as ever about the game in the county. A new campaign but nothing new in terms of tactics or personnel that will make a difference. Sideline very slow to make changes yet again, though at least the timely subs they made in defence tightened things up a good bit. Cannot understand how management can look out onto a field and think that Joseph Cooney is a county hurler; he took the goal well, but nearly every other thing he messed up, whether falling over, misplacing passes, fouling his opponent, not using his strength etc. I just knew when he broke through on goal for the second chance he'd feck it up. Just really really poor. Regan has been out for a long time but really isn't good enough either. Glynn was probably Galway's main saviour and I still think he's too awkward for IC hurling. The only mitigation for our performance was that it was given on a dog of a pitch, the surface of which is patently unsuitable for hurling.

Today's win was realistically the easiest of all our games so a win was crucial, but it's hard to see us surviving the drop if we play like that again, just too ordinary. We're stuck in a time-warp.

donnem33

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Just back from the game.

I'd be more worried than happy after that.

First 5/6 minutes were good, getting good ball into the corners to forwards out in front.
Notched a quick 5 points then it regressed from there with spurned goal chances and Flynn hitting 1:4 frees in the first half.

Realistically we should have been out of sight after 20 mins yet found ourselves 2 down with HT approaching.

No ball winners from puck outs again even against a tiny Clare team.
Clare on the other hand managed to hit a lot of easy short ones.
We seem clueless to stop and use the same tactic.

Regan had the miss of the match, similar to C.Cooney in the 2013 Leinster final, he came in off the left, should have went for goal and tried to take a point and missed left, exact same as Cooneys in all aspects.
He looks better than previous years but is still too wasteful, he hit the post with a gather near goal that any top forward is nailing and got blocked in a 2v2 in the 45 when that should be the last thing to happen with all that space.

J.Cooney had a reasonable game, still struggles with ground ball and over cooked a hand pass for our first spurned goal chance and then tried to pull on a shot near the end when 1v1 with the goalie and scuffed it.
He did bag a goal though and was involved a lot.

Pace is still a massive issue.
None of the new additions will address this.
A Clare forward ran from the sideline and got a half sniff at goal due to the slow nature of our team.
There was also another occasion a Clare forward got from one side of the pitch to the other for one of their puck outs that landed in space.

Fortunate to get the points at the end as it came down to Flynn who was having a mare to that point.

Probably the smallest team I've seen in a county game Clare had out, don't think one forward breaks 6".

Seems we're also still rotating forwards, hasn't worked yet and seems ridiculous when ye'r chasing a team late on yet have your best ball winner in midfield while ye aim at Flynn who couldn't out do a lad way smaller than him.

not sure if you could classify the likes of pat donnellan, bobby duggan, shane o donnell and john conlon as small men...in addition to the likes of aoran cunningham when he came on. That was a fairly formidable clare team out aswell.

Imo youre being a little negative, first game of the league and to get a result missing the likes of joe canning, conor cooney, david burke et al is a good result! the league is going to be so tight and its important to get home wins!

Diabhal Beag

What was the story with Flynn's free? Saw people going spastic when he was lining it up. Few lads said it was Davey moaning and some others said it was to do with subs?

Rough day at the office. They let a Clare team run them ragged in the second half. Bad initiation for Hanbury. The backs really were caught out a lot with the exception of Collins and Tannion's second half rally. O'Donnell and Conlon were rampant all day.

Flynn and Mannion worked their socks off in that second half but the two-man FF-Line is back for another season sadly. Glynn was iffy but still laid off some lovely hand-passes. Flynn had a mixed bag from frees. James Regan also hit the potentially worst wide you'll ever see in the first half along with a belter from way out in a typical excellent one minute and awful the next showing. Higgins and McInerney were decent at times.

Thought Smith and Cooney were impressive. The former's love of dirty ball and the latter improving on the attack front certainly steered them the right direction.

I feel like I'm being overly harsh on a team that could change a lot by Championship. Missing Canning and Conor Cooney is notable. Harte and Lally were decent subs. Weather was awful, traffic even worse.

donnem33

donnem33 wrote: »

not sure if you could classify the likes of pat donnellan, bobby duggan, shane o donnell and john conlon as small men...in addition to the likes of aoran cunningham when he came on. That was a fairly formidable clare team out aswell.

Imo youre being a little negative, first game of the league and to get a result missing the likes of joe canning, conor cooney, david burke et al is a good result! the league is going to be so tight and its important to get home wins!

I'd be interested to see their heights on paper but looking down from the top of the stand it didn't look like Clare had one player out there in the size range of Tannian, Glynn, Cooney, Flynn.... it's actually an issue for Galway, too many slow players.

The additions of those three players still doesn't do anything to help the pace issue.
Canning at least adds a free taker/puck out option, Cooney free taking and Burke a puck out target but his form has been so patchy he's not a guaranteed starter when he returns.

I don't think it's overly negative, this is the MGMTs 4th year and one they shouldnt have got IMO.
Clare were pretty woeful for the majority of the first half, Galway should have notched 14 points before the Clare resurgence and that would have ended it as a contest.
A lot of the issues I saw again today won't be changed with a few more games or injury returns.. pace, primary ball winners, rotating forwards needlessly etc.

Diabhal Beag

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

What was the story with Flynn's free? Saw people going spastic when he was lining it up. Few lads said it was Davey moaning and some others said it was to do with subs?

I'm not sure what the initial problem was, but he was taking far too long to take it and was told to hurry on from the ref when he hadn't even it placed.
I was sure it was going to be thrown in, maybe a lot of the ranting was because of the time elapsed.

Reminded me of last year with the line ball, though we didn't milk that as much before it was thrown in, that was a joke of a decision but to throw it in today wouldn't have been a terrible call IMO... viewing it impartially.

That's why an extra minute was added on as well.

Borders no.2

Ya would have to agree with the above. Pleased to get the win in what will be a tough division but some of the handy scores Clare were getting directly from extremely loose marking on puck outs were like what you'd see in a challenge game. They knocked over some fine scores but it was all too easy at times. Galway really should have been well ahead at half time. 2 very good goal chances blown by passes going astray at key moments and some very poor wides. 2nd half missed goal chance from Cooney is unforgivable at this level. Thought he had one of his better games today but just can't see him as a consistent hurler at this level.

There is a chronic lack of pace in the team though which is worrying as the year goes on. Tactically after the opening 10 or so minutes we once again looked a bit clueless.

2nd half didn't really see us coming back into it when Clare went 3 ahead but did well in the finish to get the win. Thought Glynn did very well and was almost carrying us on his own at times, Andy Smith was a late change before throw in and did well, David Collins is pushing on but still very important. McInerney battled hard but the backs were under pressure, James Regan made the difference last week but just isn't an inter county player full stop.

I'd hope when we get the rest of the squad back we will have a decent side but to me we look like a side where a lot of players just don't know their job and in terms of depth on the bench bringing on Aidan Harte and Paul Killeen suggests to me we are badly stretched. Noticed Davy Glennon in the crowd, is he on the panel this year, think he could offer more than Regan at least. Don't think Brian Molloy has the physicality for this level at the moment at least.

Anyway a win is a win, a wounded Tipp in Thurles next Sunday will require a significant step up but to be fair to both teams it is the first day out and to say the pitch was awful is an understatement.

T0001

Davy Glennon is injured ^^^

I can't understand the negetivity on this... Look through the forum and u'll see I'm usually the first to criticize when something goes wrong. Tbh I was impressed today that Galway dug their heals in and dug out a win.

Defence wasn't too bad at all Clare had to rely on points from outside the 45' most of the time. The pitch was a disaster with all players struggling to rise the ball, hence why there was so many schmozzles!! Mannion had a great game in the corner. He has bulked up well from last season. This 2 man full forward line doesn't work at all. High ball tactic is great when it's 1 on 1 as Mannion and Flynn are good in the air but the extra defender for Clare for 80% of the match meant there were beaten most of the time. Cooney was good all round and got inside the defence twice for goal the first of which he took well but he absolutely f*cked up the second one, it was like, wtf is he at, he barely tipped the ball on the ground. I think Kelly made it out to be more than it was when he dived to save it. The opening 15 mins or so were very promising but as far as I'm concerned it was because Clare weren't settling into the game. The goal got them into it and at one point in the second half were 3 points up. But credit where credit is due to half a Galway team for fighting back. When you look at who we were missing and still came away with the win.

I think it's cat that someone would consider this our easiest game to win. Clare are still Clare and are as sharp as ever. I was close to Flynn taking the last free and I was shocked at the abuse been shouted at Flynn by the Clare backroom team and I thought it was disgraceful and very unsportsman-like.

Tipp next week can go either way. Tipp will want to bounce back and will give the game everything they've got.

So to sum up:
- first time in a long time Galway came from behind to win
- Promising from the under-21's
- Good defending for the most part
- Free taking was awful
- Alot of guys to come back in > Cooney, Canning, N. Burke, David Burke, Daithí Burke, Davy Glennon +

goldfinger4296

It was never a free at the end and the issue was the Galway backroom member changed the ball for the free which you cannot do.

donnem33

goldfinger4296 wrote: »

It was never a free at the end and the issue was the Galway backroom member changed the ball for the free which you cannot do.[/QUOTE

its debatable whether or not the ball bounced when he picked it up off the ground..but he took at least 7 steps aswell. good pressure imposed on him by the galway forwards!

LuckyGent88

goldfinger4296 wrote: »

It was never a free at the end and the issue was the Galway backroom member changed the ball for the free which you cannot do.

Even as a clare supporter, that was a definite free imo and fair play to Brian Gavin for calling it. Would have been easy for him to just let the game settle out into a draw.

Now in saying that, I can't understand how Gavin is an inter county referee.

Toplink

FFS lads... some of the negativity here is unplaced after todays display. First game in league, terrible pitch, forwards shoot to barrel full of wides and we still manage to win it late.

I thought we'd be beaten 5/6 point today.

Ok, Glynn as a target was over used on occasion today but it as a day that was suited for it and there was no point in trying anything fancy on that surface which to me shouldn't have been used.

Heads up, expectations are low and whilst its hard to measure there was progress made today.

letowski

Yeah I was impressed by Galway in certain areas too. I think Flynn and Glynn stepping up toady is a boost and Mannion did good too, put Cooney and Canning in and ye have a good forward line there for the summer. I think ye won today as ye had the better team for the conditions. Galway had tall strong targets to aim at up front and while some of the delivery's in left alot to be desired, when good ball was hit in Clare's full back line looked really shaky. Galway's use of possession and composure needs work but it's only February.
As for Clare, well, were usually goosed in wet, heavy weather as it's hard to play a short running game. We struggled badly to win and get good ball into the forwards. But at least Conor McGrath's cameo lit up a dull afternoon.

Diabhal Beag

Toplink wrote: »

FFS lads... some of the negativity here is unplaced after todays display. First game in league, terrible pitch, forwards shoot to barrel full of wides and we still manage to win it late.

I don't think being disappointed with that showing in some respects is being unfair or ruling out notions that there weren't good showings in parts. Galway are always solid in the League especially at home but the errors you see in the League don't disappear come Summer for the most part.

Toplink wrote: »

Ok, Glynn as a target was over used on occasion today but it as a day that was suited for it and there was no point in trying anything fancy on that surface which to me shouldn't have been used.

He was well marked for puckouts in the second and frees in the first but still managed to set up chances. Not his best day at the office but he's quality.

Toplink wrote: »

Heads up, expectations are low and whilst its hard to measure there was progress made today.

Tactically it's worrying that it's the same tactics of flooding the backs and reducing the FF-Line that has hurt them since that 2012 heartbreak. Regan, Mannion and Flynn were dangerous in the first half as a unit and aimless ball into a backline with a spare man works 1/4 times with this side. Rotating guys like Brehony and Higgins doesn't let them settle into games either.

wonder88

Was at the game yesterday and I found it enjoyable. Good crowd there and both teams were committed on a heavy pitch. Good for Galway to win a tight game, and while there was some poor play I would looks at the positives.
For example it was the 3rd free-taker who was on the field yesterday.
Agree that a big team could have problems with pace later on in the year. Also the puck outs were a difficulty for a good part of the 2nd half until the keeper started going high.
However I was more hopeful after the game than leaving Ennis after the corresponding fixture last year.

To say we're painful to watch it's an understatement.

Players unable to win their own ball all over the pitch, unable to lift it when we do get sniffs and finding ourselves out numbered in attack and even numbered in defence.

P.Mannion looks promising, and McInerney hasn't done enough to get discarded at this point so with Moore and Burke to return things look somewhat promising there, however if we can't get FB sorted between R.Burke or another we're in trouble there.

C.Mannion looks improved over last year but again he's not going to be winning many 50\50 balls and we're carrying a lot of them, however he's deadly with ball in hand.
Flynn hasn't done enough for me, his free taking isn't exactly essential either so he'd be solely a play scorer after injury returns.

In fairness to J.Cooney he's stepped up this year.
He's still very fumbly but he battles hard for ball and his scoring/general play shows promise.

I think Galway under A.C are the only side who could still lose a game their opponents go nearly 20mins without scoring in.
When the game was there to be won, players played as individuals.

Zero structure to our game emphasised by the constant mistakes and poor passing.
We find ourselves badly exposed 1v1 in defence and outnumbered and isolated in attack.
Where ever we've stuck our spare men the last few years it's always the wrong place.

Was such a bad mistake to give a 4th year, there's pockets of potential in there but we're just so structurally poor and disjointed we look like a team of individuals.

Also why play Brehony in HF when his obvious position is as a midfielder, hardly helps development to shoe horn someone into a role they'll obviously not excel in.

Borders no.2

Saw the last few minutes of it having flicked over from the Connacht game, the chances were there to win it but between balls driven wide or into the keeper we let Tipp off the hook. To not score for the first 12 minutes or so of the 2nd half with a strong wind while Tipp added 2-1 finished it. 2nd Tipp goal in particular was very soft. Even minus a number of players though a chance to lay down a marker missed and Thurles continues to be a no go area for us at senior level. Looking at Dublin earlier, I think they are going a bit too well for this time of year but they look like a team re-invigorated and look like they have a real structure. It could be another short championship campaign this year.

T0001

The game was ours to take and we didn't. That's all there is too it. As far as I'm concerned we were better than Tipp in almost everything bar taking the score and flimsy defending at times. Should have won that game today. To score no goals was a disappointment considering all the positive play we had, just our last pass never stuck plus there was rarely anyone in the square anyways. Cathal Mannion seems to be coming to the fore and is impressing everyday. He;s only young but will be a serious player for us. Padraig Mannion had a great league debut, and I know I've been singing his praises since last August but I really think he could be a hurling great in a few years. Coming out of corner back on several occasions and even popping up with a score when needed I thought showed great character on his part. J. Cooney is becoming a serious runner for us getting inside the defence to create goal chances now and again.

With two home games next we should push on. Neither game is unwinnable for us and should both be crackers.

24yearslater

Just back from Thurles - wouldn't be as critical as others on here of the team. Played v well in the 1st half, were only 3 pts down at ht, despite playing into a gale. The goal just after ht really threw us, it seemed to really affect the confidence levels. Took almost 20 mins to get going again, for once all the subs worked well. Lally really stood out, whilst Hynes & Molloy made a big difference in the fwrds. Was v disappointed with regan again, it's doubtful at this stage of he can ever offer us anything. Higgins was poor again for the 2nd week in a row. Flynn missed a couple of shockers in the 2nd half, you really can't not have a reliable free taker at this level. Both Mannions played well, whilst Hansbury played as well as anyone could hope to on Callinan, who is truly a top top hurler. It was good to see us with a serious amount of fire in the bellies, with a bit more composure we could have won it. We arguably would have if one of Conor Cooney, Niall Burke, David Burke or JC was available. Grant it it was frustrating to see the bad misses & lack of composure at the latter end, but I'd still be cautiously optimistic all the same. Keep in mind it's only February, the pitches are dead, and the hard training is still ongoing. It's worth also noting that that Tipp side are riddled with class hurlers, they got within a Hawkeye call of winning the AI last year. Yet we out hurled them for long stretches on their own patch, without any of our experienced forwards. Keep the faith out there - we may well yet hear the strains of the West's Awake on the 1st Sunday!

O.A.P

I thought we were terrible today, apart from the sideline cut we showed nothing at all to make us anywhere close to a top hurling team.
Maybe its the time of year and maybe I expect to much but I was disappointed with just about all of todays game.

Borders no.2

24yearslater wrote: »

Keep the faith out there - we may well yet hear the strains of the West's Awake on the 1st Sunday!

Ah stop that's on the Mayo level of delusional.;)

wonder88

Glad that the guy at the game is optimistic, as often certain details about performance can be missed by tv viewing which was my lot today. However it is worrying that the team still seem to collapse/disappear for long periods in games when the opposition get a run at them.Last year championship game down in Thurles big example of this. Also as Gilberto pointed out the record in Semple Stadium is becoming a worry. Also from listening to the radio it appears that Galway were negative in their approach when playing with the wind.

Still early days but I think a good league is vital for this team, which means getting to the final. Should have a better idea after the next game if they can achieve this.

24yearslater

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Ah stop that's on the Mayo level of delusional.;)

We're in no position to slag off Mayo - at least they keep coming back for more. Personally I wouldn't complain if Galway teams showed the same level determination as them.

Borders no.2

24yearslater wrote: »

We're in no position to slag off Mayo - at least they keep coming back for more. Personally I wouldn't complain if Galway teams showed the same level determination as them.

It was only tongue in cheek. I do admire the way Mayo keep coming back for more but despite all the knock backs and inevitable failure there is an element of Mayo's fanbase that gets totally carried away with one or two good wins and predict that Sam is on its way to them. I think we've had so many bad days at this stage that no-one would seriously consider us being in the shake up for the All-Ireland.

The growler

T0001 wrote: »

As far as I'm concerned we were better than Tipp in almost everything bar taking the score and flimsy defending at times.

Well the most important thing is "taking the score" so Tipp fully deserved the win (despite Galway being better at almost everything )

Galway came back well to be fair after conceding the 2 goals and didn't throw in the towel like past Galway teams would have done. You'd wonder how much though was down to Tipp taking the foot off the pedal after going 10 points clear.

Semple isn't a happy hunting ground for Galway.

donnem33

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Saw the last few minutes of it having flicked over from the Connacht game, the chances were there to win it but between balls driven wide or into the keeper we let Tipp off the hook. To not score for the first 12 minutes or so of the 2nd half with a strong wind while Tipp added 2-1 finished it. 2nd Tipp goal in particular was very soft. Even minus a number of players though a chance to lay down a marker missed and Thurles continues to be a no go area for us at senior level. Looking at Dublin earlier, I think they are going a bit too well for this time of year but they look like a team re-invigorated and look like they have a real structure. It could be another short championship campaign this year.

if that game had gone on another 5 mins kilkenny would have beaten them despite being down 2 men (1 very harshly sent off) and missing a load of players!!!

I feel alot of posters are being very negative about today...yes it was disappointing we didnt get a result, but at least after going 10 points down they never let up and fought their way back into the match point by point and gleeson pulled off some serious saves for them!!! and the conditions were dreadful which may explain alot of slack passing/shots. Yes we have a lot of improvement to do, but I feel with the players to come back in, we are heading in the right direction!

Toplink

donnem33 wrote: »

I feel alot of posters are being very negative about today...yes it was disappointing we didnt get a result, but at least after going 10 points down they never let up and fought their way back into the match point by point and gleeson pulled off some serious saves for them!!!

+1

The results of these games will have very little bearing around what happens in the summer. Thought Hanbury did ok overall given the size of the task. Lally really shored up things too when introduced.

davehedgehog

was at the game yesterday and wasn't too downbeat afterwards. Got caught for 2 soft goals but the fightback was heartening and Tipp really were hanging on. In the final 20 minutes we got a lot of scores but also missed a lot that could have pegged them back.

Of the starting forwards yesterday i would think only 2 of them will be starting when all are fit so they are doing OK. Us and KK are in a similar position with missing players but am looking forward to see at least one or two of C. Cooney, Canning, N. Burke, D. Burke & Donnellan drip feed back over the next few games. Daithi Burke will hopefully back also after St Patrick's Day.

T0001

A win for the Galway Footballers at home to Laois tomorrow will all but guarantee safety in Div. 2 for 2016. Teams with 6+ points in Div 2 have all been safe for the last 6 seasons. Puts a bit more pressure on the lads tomorrow but if and when they win (realistically) it will be the first time in three years that Galway won't be in a relegation battle come the last round of the league.

Tbh I think we should win out the division. I can't see any reason we shouldn't! We have the players and with 3 home games still to go and 4pts already I think we're looking at 10 pts minimum. (Plus I think we can take Roscommon in the Hyde, and our record v. Down has been good) Regardless it's goanna be a good year for us! Best of Luck lads

Utopia Parkway

T0001 wrote: »

A win for the Galway Footballers at home to Laois tomorrow will all but guarantee safety in Div. 2 for 2016. Teams with 6+ points in Div 2 have all been safe for the last 6 seasons. Puts a bit more pressure on the lads tomorrow but if and when they win (realistically) it will be the first time in three years that Galway won't be in a relegation battle come the last round of the league.

Tbh I think we should win out the division. I can't see any reason we shouldn't! We have the players and with 3 home games still to go and 4pts already I think we're looking at 10 pts minimum. (Plus I think we can take Roscommon in the Hyde, and our record v. Down has been good) Regardless it's goanna be a good year for us! Best of Luck lads

You would imagine but Galway are still missing a lot of important players (Conroy, Flynn, Corofin bucks, etc). Laois have also been a bit of a bogey team for Galway in recent years. I would take any kind of win against them in the circumstances.

Borders no.2

Galway match called off. Bit disappointed in that we are on a bit of a run and Laois are struggling which might not be the case when the game is re-fixed but on the flip side on a busy sporting day I'm sure a lot of people would have been disappointed to miss that match.

Borders no.2

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Galway match called off. Bit disappointed in that we are on a bit of a run and Laois are struggling which might not be the case when the game is re-fixed but on the flip side on a busy sporting day I'm sure a lot of people would have been disappointed to miss that match.

They're more likely to remain off form.

Galway on the other hand are given more time to get players back from injury and/or Corofin(so long as its not rescheduled next weekend but I'm sure that's most likely).

MfMan

Down game next weekend I think.

T0001

Here are Galway's fixtures

Sunday 1 February: Galway 2-13 v 1-12 Meath
Sunday 8 February: Westmeath 2-12 v 2-13 Galway.
Sunday 1 March: Galway v Laois (pp)
Sunday 8 March: Down v Galway
Sunday 15 March: Galway v Cavan [Double Header]
Sunday 29 March: Roscommon v Galway.
Sunday 5 April: Galway v Kildare

Most likely to be the weekend of the 21st/22nd March, more likely the Saturday evening

Borders no.2

Kildare lost to Westmeath which leaves them staring at relegation. Don't know what is going on there but if Galway can just win our home games 10 points may even be enough for promotion.

Utopia Parkway

T0001 wrote: »

Here are Galway's fixtures

Sunday 1 February: Galway 2-13 v 1-12 Meath
Sunday 8 February: Westmeath 2-12 v 2-13 Galway.
Sunday 1 March: Galway v Laois (pp)
Sunday 8 March: Down v Galway
Sunday 15 March: Galway v Cavan [Double Header]
Sunday 29 March: Roscommon v Galway.
Sunday 5 April: Galway v Kildare

Most likely to be the weekend of the 21st/22nd March, more likely the Saturday evening

Yeah Laois game is now March 22 which means the footballers will be out every weekend for the next 5 weekends on the trot.

Not sure when the Corofin lads will be back involved but I'm guessing it might be for the Roscommon game. Don't think they will be back for that rearranged Laois game.

T0001

So Paul Galvin is out of retirement, any chance Padraic Joyce will follow?!

RobbieRuns

T0001 wrote: »

So Paul Galvin is out of retirement, any chance Padraic Joyce will follow?!

Padraic does not have a book to flog, clothes to sell or such a general desire to be in the public eye. Little bit of meeja work will do him grand and keeping it cool in Killererin.

Mikey Meehan.......... now that might be different ?

aidan24326

RobbieRuns wrote: »

Padraic does not have a book to flog, clothes to sell or such a general desire to be in the public eye. Little bit of meeja work will do him grand and keeping it cool in Killererin.

Mikey Meehan.......... now that might be different ?

Sadly Michael will not be wearing the maroon again. He busted his ass to try and get back to full fitness again but he admitted only recently that intercounty football is almost certainly over for him now. Such a pity to see a player so talented have his career wrecked by injury.

Utopia Parkway

RobbieRuns wrote: »

Padraic does not have a book to flog, clothes to sell or such a general desire to be in the public eye. Little bit of meeja work will do him grand and keeping it cool in Killererin.

Mikey Meehan.......... now that might be different ?

Even Meehan said recently it's unlikely he'll be back even though he'd love to be.

Imagine things would be looking pretty rosy for Galway football if they still had a fully fit Michael Meehan in the side. Such a shame.

Realt Dearg Sec

How are Galway folks feeling about this weekend? Wouldn't be too up on your team and ye are always an enigma, but aside from a few tinfoil hats thinking Kelly is conspiring to destroy Kilkenny hurling, we also have a bad record on your home patch. A quite experimental team has so far got an unexpected win in cork paying great and a deserved beating by a savage Dublin team at home. But Galway are ashtrays impossible to read from outside, what's the thinking out west?

T0001

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

How are Galway folks feeling about this weekend? Wouldn't be too up on your team and ye are always an enigma, but aside from a few tinfoil hats thinking Kelly is conspiring to destroy Kilkenny hurling, we also have a bad record on your home patch. A quite experimental team has so far got an unexpected win in cork paying great and a deserved beating by a savage Dublin team at home. But Galway are ashtrays impossible to read from outside, what's the thinking out west?

Theres positivity given that its a home team. Given how Galway have been ralling the last quarter the last 2 days out gives us hope that if we have a half decent 50 mins we'll win out.

Borders no.2

Both teams well short of full strength. I'd imagine it'll be tight. Important to try and win the home games but Kilkenny won't want to lose 2 in a row especially with Clare and Tipp to play yet.

MfMan

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

How are Galway folks feeling about this weekend? Wouldn't be too up on your team and ye are always an enigma, but aside from a few tinfoil hats thinking Kelly is conspiring to destroy Kilkenny hurling, we also have a bad record on your home patch. A quite experimental team has so far got an unexpected win in cork paying great and a deserved beating by a savage Dublin team at home. But Galway are ashtrays impossible to read from outside, what's the thinking out west?

All that recent spouting about Barry Kelly having an agenda against KK is really unseemly - how many AIs have ye won over the past 20 years? It makes the posters sound like spoilt kids, always wanting more. Few counties more than Galway have suffered more from refs in finals, but we haven't gone on about to the same extent.

Don't know why Galway always seem to be branded an enigma; they're no more or less consistent than most teams - in fact, under Cunningham, they've been consistently average/underwhelming for the past few years. Going by the league, look at Cork, poor v KK, good v Clare. Look at KK, good v Cork, poor v Dublin etc.

Normally I would be looking forward to this game more than most; however, the crap state of the Pearse stadium surface will make the match a bit of a lottery I predict. Why oh why oh why won't the county board bring hurling matches to Athenry? Easier to access for home and visiting fans thus a bigger crowd, better surface, more conducive atmosphere for good hurling, plus it suits Galway better for getting a result. Myopia of the highest order.

Anyway, mini-rant over! Galway team should be along the same lines as before, with Fergal Moore apparently nearing full fitness again. If he is, I would chance starting him, and moving debutant Padraig Mannion further forward to strengthen the attack where a lot of Galway's forwards thus far have been stuttering a bit. Doubt 'twill happen though. Galway's need for a win is greater, but I hope our esteemed manager doesn't manage them out of it.

edit; see team has been named with Greg Lally starting at 6, not too bad, Tan moving to midfield and Smith replacing Brehony in attack, (Dean Higgins could just as easily have lost out). Strengthens the team a bit but scoring power still a problem.

T0001

Wins for Kildare and Meath tonight. If we win tomorrow (bit iffy given its away to Down) means we go top of the table with a home game at hand. Gaillimh Abú!!!

Also Cork beat Dublin hurlers 0-34 to 1-20 great game overall, throughally enjoyed it!!

Borders no.2

Division 2 is very topsy turvy, a win tomorrow would put Galway odds on for promotion but I think even just winning the remaining home games could be enough.

Hurling league has no real form line to date. Very hard to predict anything so far.

Dublin and Cork both on 4 now. Kilkenny, Tipp and Galway on 2 and Clare on 0.

I'd expect Clare to win tomorrow. Kilkenny will view tomorrow as important as they are away to Tipp next who will be gunning to put down a marker in that one.

The league will go to the wire this year.

Diabhal Beag

Massive result for the hurlers. Lucky not to concede a few goals thanks to Callanan and Padraig Mannion in the last 10. Thought Hanbury was a lot more solid than the last two showings.

Canning came on for Higgins in the second and he made a mark. Was a bit off but still managed to score the greatest sideline cut ever seen in the Stadium. Flynn was excellent from frees. Thought Smith worked his arse off. Lally was impressive too.

Aside from that it was a game of inconsistency. The likes of Higgins scored lovely points but minutes later would handpass it straight to KK men. Cork is another big test to stay up next week.

Sounds like the footballers threw it away in the last 10 minutes. Hopefully 2 wins on Sunday in the Stadium.

Borders no.2

Deserved win for the hurlers. However, fell over the line in the end when it really should have been a more comfortable margin. Kilkenny well short of options but surprisingly Richie Hogan aside nobody really advanced their claims for them.

Impressive displays from Padraig Mannion and Greg Lally and Andy Smith and Johnny Glynn got through a lot of work. Jason Flynn had a decent outing also.

Still plenty to work on but another win next week will put us in the knockout stages which can only be a help in finding our team coming up to championship. I think Cork will be a big step up on the Kilkenny team that started today.

Footballers defeat was disappointing considering they lead most of the way and from what the commentators were saying had the better of it but its not a fatal blow. The league is very topsy turvy but need to bounce back straight away against Cavan.

Worthwent14

Disappointing loss to down considering we were leading for so long. Lack of experience in the last 10 minutes cost us along with the fact the down keeper was brilliant. Our own keeper made a good save from the peno unlucky to concede the rebound. Still was positive that we created so many chances and cummins and denvir and o curraoin have really improved. Great to see conroy back. 3 home games to come but no breaks until end of league so will be tough on players. Hopefully we can win the home games

T0001

Good win for the hurlers, we seem to finally be able to keep consistant throughout matches, once we got infront today we never let up. Excellent displays from Lally and P. Mannion and some great saves from Callinnan right at the end. The game itself was nothing special and will be seen as nothing more than 2 points on the board. Some poor last passes cost us some goal chances. Glynn had a great game coming out of all the schmozzles with the ball glued to the hurl, dont think i've ever seen anything like it before!!

Unfortunate about the footballers but we still have 3 home games and should take points from then. Talking to a mate of mine who went he said they threw it away in the end after playing great for 50-55 mins.