RISKY BUSINESS
Galway’s character not in question but their killer instinct is
IT WAS the only shot fired by Joe Canning that was out of keeping with a thrilling roller coaster of a twolegged All-Ireland semi-final.
When the Hurler of the Year walked off the field at Semple Stadium on Sunday afternoon, he was swallowed up by the crowd of Galway well-wishers who had immediately spilled onto the field at the final whistle of another edge-of-seat thriller in which the Portumna star played a central role.
His eight-point haul was critical to the outcome as Galway squeezed home by the narrowest of margins after this replay went down to the very last ball — just as it had at Croke Park the previous weekend.
The glorious sweep of Canning’s line-ball in the 69th minute was a significant moment, coming as it did just after Aron Shanagher’s flicked effort to put Clare in the lead rebounded off the post and was cleared. That sideline was just one reason why he scooped the Man of the Match award.
It struck a bum note to hear him twice play up the idea that Galway had been disrespected in the build-up to the replay, when the over-riding narrative from the double bill of semi-finals also involving Cork and Limerick the previous weekend was that it was arguably the greatest hurling double-bill in modern history.
‘We didn’t get a lot of respect during the week, I think, from media and such,’ he insisted. ‘Our character was questioned, I thought.
‘People were saying we didn’t perform and stuff like that. But only being behind once in an All-Ireland semi-final over two games just shows the character we have.’
The character of this Galway team is hardly in question. Not when the victory over Clare on Sunday brought their unbeaten run in Championship over the past two seasons to 13 games. Micheál Donoghue’s men are now just one step away from emulating the double-winning heroes of 1987-88.
There is one legitimate criticism of Galway this season: they haven’t been ruthless enough to kill off games.
So far this year, Galway have coughed up sizeable leads on seven different occasions.
While the Limerick fixture stands apart as the only game in League or Championship Galway have lost, a worrying trend has developed.
In the first of the Leinster Championship group games, Galway thundered into a 1-3 to 0-2 lead before Offally levelled at 1-6 apiece. Their 12-point winning margin at the end meant that wobble was all but forgotten.
Then there was the Leinster final against Kilkenny, when Galway pulled three clear heading into injury time. The momentum looked to be all with the holders. Instead, John Donnelly, Enda Morrissey and TJ Reid grabbed the last three points as Kilkenny did what they frequently do under Brian Cody and produced big plays under pressure when it mattered most.
The replay represented the biggest swing yet. This time Galway were sensational from the start, racing into a 12-point lead and threatening to humiliate the game’s standard bearers.
Instead, Kilkenny turned the match around, pegging Galway back to within a single point in a head-scratching turnaround.
It was down to the character that Canning referenced that Galway had to win the game almost a second time.
Then came the All-Ireland semifinal. With the first quarter barely elapsed, Galway were once again threatening to turn a big game against big name opposition into a rout — they led Clare 1-7 to 0-1.
The story of how the Banner fought back to force extra-time has well been told, even that wasn’t able to produce a winner.
Which brings us to last Sunday. Talk about history repeating itself. When Johnny Glynn swung one-handed to fire the ball to the back of the net, Galway again had a nine-point cushion, leading 1-9 to 0-3 with 21 minutes gone.
And this after Clare had positioned Colm Galvin as sweeper from the start.
In keeping with a summer of mind-bending hurling that has turned logic on its head, ditching Galvin as sweeper and pushing him out around midfield was part of the Clare turnaround this time.
Goals from Shane O’Donnell and Peter Duggan meant that, by the time Clare substitute Shanagher fired over a point in the 64th minute, the gap was down to just one.
Who knows how it would have ended if the same player’s bat on goal had gone two inches left rather than rebounding off the post. For whatever reason, whether lapses in concentration or simply the opposition finding another gear, Galway have suffered periods when they have coughed up leads.
In March, Limerick reminded them that they won’t get away with it.
If there is one area the champions need to improve on as they chase back-to-back All-Irelands, it’s that ability to build a significant lead — and hold on to it.