GALWAY BELIEVE THEY’RE READY FOR THEIR BIG CROKE PARK EXAM
Tribesmen learning fast ahead of their Dublin test, says Walsh
SHANE WALSH reckons every day in Division 1 has been a school day for Galway’s footballers. If that is the case, Kevin Walsh’s impressive young side have proven to be quick learners.
On Sunday, the Tribesmen will meet Dublin in the Allianz League final, having finished the regulation fixtures staring down at the rest of the division.
Back in January, most pundits had felt that Galway would struggle to survive in the top flight. Instead, they seamlessly settled in to life there, despite Walsh and most of his team-mates having never experienced Division 1 football.
‘At the start of this campaign, we didn’t know what to expect,’ the talented forward said in Croke Park yesterday. ‘We have played Division 1 teams sporadically over the last few years, normally towards the end of the Championship, and have fallen away against them.
‘So, we didn’t look past our first game against Tyrone. Everyone was expecting them to beat us in Tuam and that helped to motivate us. And with the hurlers winning the All-Ireland last year, it helped us too, inspired us to try and get our own success. But we never had a goal in mind, like stay up or get to a League final. It was always just the next game and it is all about ourselves.
‘We are just trying to learn about ourselves every time we go out and that is what we have done in the League, from Tyrone to Donegal to Kerry. Even Kildare last weekend, everyone thought that was a game that didn’t mean anything but we learnt as much from that as we did against Tyrone. We are learning with every game.’
The footballers and hurlers train together in Loughgeorge — and Daithí Burke, the solid full-back on last year’s All-Ireland-winning team played with the footballers in 2014. So there is a fair bit of friendly interaction between the two squads and Walsh is keen to replicate the success with the bigger ball.
And while Walsh belongs to Galway’s tradition of skilful, ballplaying attackers, the Tribesmen have clearly developed a harder edge in the past 18 months — and concentrated more on defensive organisation. They had the best defensive record in the League, conceding only a single goal to Monaghan.
Much of Galway’s success has been based on a deep-lying, wellstructured defence who are able to torch their opponents on the counter-attack because of the pace of their forwards, such as Walsh. The wide expanses of Croker this weekend should suit speed merchants like Walsh, Damien Comer and Eamonn Brannigan.
‘It will only suit us if we get a performance, that is what it comes down to,’ says the Kilkerrin-Clonberne clubman. ‘You can have as much pace as you want, but you could be chasing shadows, especially against a team like Dublin. We are just focusing on ourselves and preparing for a right tough battle.’
Kevin Walsh has spent the past few years implementing a rigid structure — the recruitment of Paddy Tally to his coaching team has seen an even more organised defence this spring — and the gifted centre-forward says that he prefers playing within a solid set-up, where he has a defined role, to when he was once given free licence to do what he wanted.
‘When a manager comes in and he is trying to bring a new structure, it is going to take time. This is Kevin’s fourth year and we are starting to gain understanding as we go along. It takes a few years for the group to come together and get the process so everyone knows what they are doing.
‘It’s not easy and it takes time for players to adapt. I was probably one of the main ones, in terms of that, because I was a bit more free-flowing before. Some would say that was good for me, but I would prefer to be part of a solid structure that will be in place for years to come, so young lads coming through know exactly what is expected of them, rather than just having a free-for-all.’
And while Walsh contends that the Tribesmen are still adapting to the structured style, he feels the ease with which last year’s Under 21 stars Seán Andy Ó Ceallaigh, Peter Cooke and Sean Kelly have made the step up this spring illustrates that the set-up has ensured all new players are aware of what is expected of them.
He points to the example of Sunday’s opponents Dublin and the way in which Jim Gavin is able to throw a number of untested youngsters in without it disturbing either the system or style of play. It is exactly what Galway are striving for — and what they appear to have found under Kevin Walsh.
‘You can often be blinded by the lights when you go into a senior dressing-room as a youngster. But now, everyone knows what is in store for you, because Kevin has put that structure in place and he just wants players to feed into it. I think that’s a big reason why Dublin have been so successful.
‘They have a structure in place and Jim Gavin just feeds young players through it. He is always changing up their team and new players can do the same job as the fella he replaced. That’s crucial and we are trying to get up to that level. We want to emulate them.’
This Sunday in Croke Park will be the toughest examination yet that Galway have had to sit this year. If they manage to pass it, it will be time to accept that this exciting, young side are the real deal.
“Emulating the
Dubs’ structure is crucial to us”