Galway and Wexford face new pressures amid soaring expectations

Tipperary’s defeat has opened up the championship in a manner that didn’t happen last year

TWO possibilities arise when you find yourself facing a big new challenge: you either take charge and grow with it or allow it to control you and seize up.

Galway hurlers are in new challenge territory now, heading into the championship as League champions and All-Ireland favourites. I haven’t sensed as much optimism in the county for a very long time, with supporters believing that this year will be different.

That’s not to be confused with over-confidence. There are always people in every county who get carried away by a few good results, but the vast majority of Galway supporters are maintaining a careful balance between confidence and reality. That’s a sideshow anyway and all that matters is the attitude among the squad and management.

Both were careful to bring a sense of perspective to the League win, enjoying the success for what it was but not overvaluing it. Of course they can’t control what happens elsewhere and once Tipperary were beaten last Sunday, Galway became the new favourites for the All-Ireland.

That doesn’t count for a whole lot but, at the same time, the wider hurling public are more curious than usual about Galway. From a squad perspective, that’s a good thing. A horse gets to the top of the handicap for a reason and it’s same in team sports. Galway are very highly-rated now because of how they have been playing.

They have a strong, experienced panel and they finally look to be settled in team selection. After that, it’s about performing, not just on one day but on every day.

It’s about making a statement that their time has come and that they won’t let it pass. No wild promises or predictions, but no excuses either. Galway’s impressive finish to the League is a huge confidence-booster but it also brings new pressures. Tipperary’s experience against Cork last Sunday will be have reinforced that.

As defending All-Ireland and Munster champions, Tipp were hot favourites but it counted for nothing, once they didn’t perform on full power.

It’s the same now for Galway. Lest anyone forgets, Dublin started the season in 1A while Galway were in 1B. Dublin won only one game but the experience of playing six matches against top opposition will have stood to them.

The profile of the team has altered for various reasons under Ger Cunningham and since some players haven’t made themselves available, he knows that the pressure is on.

It’s a pity he doesn’t have a full deck to deal from but ultimately those who opted out are the losers. Time is precious in players’ careers and if they don’t exploit those years, they often come to regret it.

Dublin are dangerous opponents for Galway tomorrow. Few are giving them any chance of winning and more excitable types are predicting a sizeable defeat.

I don’t expect them to win but I’ll be surprised if they don’t make a real battle of it.

Like Galway, Wexford are in new territory. Expectations are soaring, something the players have to cope with if their graph is to continue on the rise. The first priority is not to regard the first fence (against Laois) as a practice jump only.

Laois gave Galway two torrid tests in Portlaoise in 2013 and 2014 – indeed they were a bit unlucky not to win the second one – and are well capable of stretching Wexford too.

Ever since the draw was made, all the talk has been of Wexford v Kilkenny in Wexford Park in the semi-final. There was plenty talk too about Wexford footballers hosting Dublin but Carlow wrecked that plan so the hurlers have been well-warned.

GENUINE

Laois don’t see themselves as support acts for the bigger show and after having three games in the ‘round robin’, they will be well-tuned. It’s a genuine test for Wexford, one they will pass if they react positively to their new-found status.

Offaly lost to Westmeath by double scores in last year’s Leinster championship so they know what to expect in Mullingar this evening. I hear that Offaly have done well in some challenge games recently and are probably a bit ahead of Westmeath, who made the quarter-finals despite losing two ‘round robin’ games.

By tomorrow evening, the four semi-final pairings will be known in Leinster and Munster, yet the eventual All-Ireland winners might not be among them. Tipperary’s defeat last Sunday was both a big surprise and a setback for them but the chances are that they will still be a major force at the business end of the championship.

They contributed to their downfall by not being a lot tighter on Cork. It suited Cork that Tipp allowed the game to develop into an open shoot-out, with the likes of Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston and Patrick Horgan thriving in the freedom they were afforded.

It’s a mistake Tipp won’t make again, whoever they meet. Their season is far from over.