Galway GAA Discussion Thread #2

Agree very much with all this.

Some tough and in many ways fairly understandable criticism of Shane Walsh, but from being at the game you could see he was busting a gut to try and make things happen in a very, very stagnant forward line.

Armagh tactically challenged us to break them down and we didn't have the guile.

Management team is a bit top heavy Imv, it needs a shake up, I'd nearly keep Padraig, the rest of the team... need to lose 1 or 2

Just to chime in as a neutral. I agree 100% with you Stewball, this basketball type possession football should be banned. To quote Pat Spillane it's puke football and so boring, repetitive & monotonous to watch. Given Comers power & strength he should be positioned to allow to him to run at the defense, and may, on occasion, have to be fouled to be stopped so a score-able free would result even perhaps a penalty - that of keep lobbing the ball in to him and he would win a percentage of them….and it's all about percentages. It was so pointless leaving him literally starved and isolated for long periods in the edge of the square.

But overall it's by chance and a stroke of luck that both teams managed to reach the final - it's a sad reflection on the standard of football overall. It was a series to forget. But Armagh deserved to win today purely for their never say die attitude, it will be great boost for football in the county.

Two words for you "Tim O'Leary!"

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Anyway back on topic this is a Galway GAA thread. It will be interesting to see how Galway react from this loss. Will they learn from it. That is two close finals they were in.

At the moment I would say Galway Football is nearer to the big prize than the Galway hurlers are. Unlike Mayo it is not a mental block. Just more of a tactical sideline issue.

Nearly there though. That Galway football panel have all the tools required. It should be a very open championship in the next decade or so. And it would be a shame for Galway not to get the big prize, some lovely footballers.

Do Galway people think that Conroy will call it day now or will he hang on for as long as he can?

Hard as it is to say, the better team IMO won. Played with superior pace throughout, took their scores better and found it easier to take them. Galway's gameplan (not just today) wasn't designed to get the best out of the full forward line. Approach play was too slow and ponderous and no quick ball sent in. Hard luck in particular to McHugh, Conroy, Maher, D'Arcy who gave it their all.

The close nature of the defeat I think will give them hunger to go one step better next year.

Do you think there is? Two close finals, two losses.

Shame if there is nearly every county in the country would love to have a panel of players Galway have.

It would be an awful waste not to win Sam with them. Or a "fierce waste" as you would say in Galway. Not third time lucky?

I get the point on the tactics, not that Armagh were the better team. Galway had the chances to win the game. They just couldn't finish their dinner. Normally Galway shooting is better than that.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/c0vejxz8rr2o

From the article above -

"Galway ended the game with 13 points from 25 shots (nine wides, three dropped short), their profligacy dashing their hopes of ending a 23-year wait for Sam."

Very well summed up

The talk here about positives and the future is mental. Need to face the reality first. This was the worst All Ireland loss bar the 83 final when 14 lost to 12 dubs.

Armagh only scored 1-11 FFS. They had 0-9 points after 42 mins. They still outscored Galway in the next 35 minutes, it's criminal.

Conroy made up for his quiet game 2 years ago. I feel so sorry for him. 3 points from midfield in a final . He deserved more from Comer and Walsh.

Comer is our Aidan O Shea. A flat track bully in Connacht.

Absolute **** bottlers.

I don't think you can blame Comer, no forward could operate in the position he did today. Hidden behind 2 lines of defence, no chance of ball coming in. Clifford operated in less confined circumstances 2 weeks ago and got no where.

You have to run at blanket defences and have runners to offload to running in support. Pass the parcel from side to side will only get so far. It works in soccer as the ball can be transferred so quickly. In football it takes 2 to 3 times as long and it's easily covered. The only joy we got in the first half was when mcHugh cut in and took them on. We got 3 or 4pts off just him.

Walsh is a good ball carrier too and he should have made similar runs to draw defenders. Bring Comer out to run support from deep and he would draw defenders or fouls. We'd get plenty of point and goal chances. Might get turned over the odd time but it's risk reward and we're risk adverse.

Joyce possibly should have held comer in reserve. He was poor enough against the dubs and donegal if we are being honest. Yesterday will sting Galway for a long long time. Armagh didnt even play well yesterday and Galway just malfunctioned. Still can't belive they butchered the overlap when gleeson broke the kickout in injury time. I cant see an all Ireland going to galway for a long long time given the teams that will reemerge next year. Yesterday was the chance.

In hindsight, losing Finnerty was a huge loss and maybe cost them the game. He surely would have offered a little more danger, and landed one or two of those frees.

But I really didn't see that performance coming from Galway. I know that the Armagh defence is of course very tight, and they generally don't concede high scores.

But Comer, Walsh, Heaney, Tierney, all underperformed IMO, Finnerty was injured and McDaid was quiet by his standards. Even McHugh's accuracy deserted him.

Galway had enough chances to win the game. I don't think armagh were the better team.

Leave off! We beat our closest rivals in Connacht, the league champions, and (in knock-out games in very tight finishes) the Leinster and Ulster champions en route. Nothing shabby or weak about that.

We made hard work of every single score we got bar the McDaid one on the break. Armagh manufactured their scores more easily. Just having possession doesn't make you the better team. Armagh pressure caused some of those misses and they had misses of their own, unless you think we should score everything we kick.