Treaty hunger reigns in one-point hammering
AN extraordinary last quarter totally contradicted what came before it as Limerick manhandled defending champions Galway in the most remarkable one-point hammering in All-Ireland SHC final history.
Nothing went right for Galway, but much of that was down to a ravenous Treaty side who outworked them from start to finish and defied hitting 20 wides – and just two points from frees – with an outstanding team performance.
It’s hard to quantify what hunger can do for a county and the difference between being the hunter and the hunted, but Limerick set the terms of engagement and played the game as they wished.
The Treaty half-forward line again adopted a bunched approach on their own puck-outs, with Galway’s half-backs surprisingly following them and leaving space free down the channels, which they exploited.
Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid had lots of grass to aim for when he looked up as Galway lost their defensive shape and Tom Morrissey’s 20th-minute point summed this up beautifully.
The Ahane dynamo switched wings as Quaid started his runup, Pádraic Mannion was unsure whether to stick or twist, and that moment of hesitation gave him enough time to collect it alone and fire over.
Another tactic saw both Morrissey and Gearóid Hegarty play on the same wing under some puck-outs, which allowed them to have bodies around the breaking ball and their movement totally stifled the normally unbreakable Galway half-back line.
With Conor Whelan and Conor Cooney being called back on opposition puck-outs to try and provide a comfort blanket for their defence, Quaid could also go short to good effect, with Seán Finn and Richie English having time to take a glance and deliver upfield.
Numerous instances occurred that were totally unexpected, partly Limerick’s doing, and partly Galway having a hand in their own downfall.
Cian Lynch’s ninth-minute score was a case in point: A ball skewed up in the air that would normally be meat and drink for a ruthlessly efficient Galway defence, but instead the Patrickswell wizard rose highest among four opposition bodies and fired over.
Itwasthatsortofdayforthe Tribesmen as all three goals were easily avoidable, as they were in control of the situation in possession before being turned over. Worse followed minutes later after Galway had taken the lead, 0-6 to 0-5, for the only time, in the 16th minute.
The one-man wrecking ball Seamus Flanagan sent Mannion – who had just missed a routine pick-up – flying to the turf, allowing Kyle Hayes to collect and fire a pinpoint pass to Graeme Mulcahy on the 13-yard line.
What followed will give Galway nightmares as Mulcahy – the smallest man on the field – was somehow allowed to weave through bodies in the danger zone before James Skehill needlessly went to ground and the ball ricocheted into the net.
Not the hallmark of champions we have become accustomed to; normally a forward loses their life when they go into Daithí Burke’s territory. Limerick looked one step ahead, Galway looked stuck in the mud.
Limerick skipper Declan Hannon set the tone. Mannion drilled a ball to Joe Canning in the 23rd minute, but the Portumna ace was unusually hesitant. Hannon picked his pocket to fire it back over the bar with interest before again putting him on the back foot to fire over the next point.
It was strange to see the likes of Daithí Burke and Canning get caught under high balls, whereas Limerick were parachuting into them. One such instance saw Hayes knock Canning into the middle of next week just before the break.
Everything Limerick did was full-blown and the Kildimo-Pallaskenry man left the reigning Hurler of the Year sprawled on the ground – referee James Owens later blew for a free, but it
looked perfectly timed – making a statement in the process. No backward step would be taken.
Flanagan was at the heart of most of Limerick’s dominance and the closing action of the first-half saw him coast out in front of John Hanbury – who had a tough afternoon before being called ashore – on the Cusack Stand side and sling it over at the Davin End. It all looked so easy.
At the other end it was laboured. Time after time, Galway took the ball into contact in the middle third and were swallowed up by Limerick’s pack mentality. Some of their turnovers bordered on assault, such was the intensity.
ADVANTAGE
For whatever reason, Galway weren’t exploiting Johnny Glynn’s height advantage on Mike Casey with any decent aerial bombardment – Casey gave a masterclass of man-marking and the dark arts – and the supply to Whelan was non-existent. He was starved.
Limerick seemed happy to allow Skehill go short to his corner-backs with the restarts and for their forwards to press them to clear upfield. That tactic helped to ensure Joseph Cooney was the only Galway forward to score from play until the 51st minute.
It’s a minor miracle that Gearóid McInerney lasted the 83 minutes, but Hayes made hay early in the second-half, firing three points as he enjoyed the freedom of the park. The Galway centre-back was clearly hampered by injury and couldn’t get near him.
Their woes were summed up in the 47th minute. They were eight down when Whelan played a beautiful cross-field ball for Cooney to run on to and point, but the Sarsfields forward inexplicably lost sight of the ball in the air and it trickled out over the sideline.
The harder Galway tried, the worse it got. McInerney usually holds on to the ball like a mother does to a newborn baby, but Morrissey somehow flicked it from his grasp in the 54th minute before expertly flicking to the net past Skehill.
Limerick were in dreamland when livewire substitute Peter Casey did likewise to Adrian Tuohey’s lackadaisical clearance from a short puck-out to perform a block and play in Dowling, who calmly fired into the ground past replacement keeper Fearghal Flannery in the 68th minute.
Galway’s mistakes were punished and two hands were on the Liam MacCarthy, but Canning awoke from his slumber to produce a tour de force in the final half hour, showing nerves of steel to fire 1-6 (1-3 frees) and get within touching distance of daylight robbery.
Galway had been on the ropes, Limerick had all but pushed them over, but they threw haymakers as they were falling and nearly scored a sensational comeback.
Alas, it was not to be as Canning’s last-gasp free dropped short and it would have stung harder than ‘94 for Limerick as they controlled affairs and were always one step ahead.
Galway’s no-show leads to a winter of regret, but for the Treaty, the long evenings will be cherished.