Fall of big guns is no surprise, says Donoghue
THE landscape for Galway’s All-Ireland title defence altered significantly in the past few weeks — and it had nothing to do with the Tribesmen.
As the powerful force from the west went about their business in a controlled manner, the structure of the new Championship claimed two big casualties down south.
Tipperary and Waterford were the last two teams that Galway had to beat on their way to the Liam MacCarthy Cup last summer. And they were the two sides that troubled them the most. But if Micheál Donoghue’s team do successfully defend their All-Ireland title, as many expect, they won’t meet either.
Donoghue rarely gives much away and if he was surprised that his two main rivals from 2017 are gone, he wasn’t showing it last week.
‘When we are watching from afar, and particularly in Munster, we are watching it as spectators. I know it sounds cold but it doesn’t really concern us,’ Donoghue explained. ‘We have just concentrated on ourselves. That has stood to us to date and that is all we have been doing this year.
‘But it has been great viewing, the Munster Championship. Because of the structures, there was always going to be a bit of attrition in it. But there was so little between all the teams in Munster, there was always going to be two big casualties.’
As big guns fell in Munster, Galway have been able to move through the gears in Leinster. There was a degree of comfort in how they dealt with Kilkenny in Pearse Stadium while they simply swatted Wexford aside.
Indeed, it was Pat Gilroy’s resurgent Dublin side which posed the most questions for the All-Ireland champions as they ended the roundrobin with a 100 per cent record.
Donoghue had the luxury of resting Joe Canning and Johnny Coen for the final group game and still saw his team win.
‘We didn’t have to get a result against Dublin and that was what was portrayed. But for ourselves, we had momentum and we wanted to keep it going. In fairness, coming into that game, you could see a small bit of fatigue and that is how the game played out. We had to hurt big-time in the last 15 minutes to stay in the game and dig out the result.’
Should Galway retain their title, this summer will be remembered for Championship hurling finally making its return to Salthill.
‘The fact that we had been crying out for so long to get home games was very evident with the size of the crowd on both days. The Kilkenny game was a huge crowd and the weather and everything played its part. I’ve said this many times but the team has built up a massive rapport with the supporters and that is evident in the crowds.’
While Galway eased to a win over Kilkenny in Salthill, Donoghue is expecting a different challenge in Croke Park this weekend. ‘They come into this game as League champions and they have huge form behind them,’ said the Galway boss.
Some pundits have suggested that Galway won’t be really judged until they are in an All-Ireland semi-final, but Donoghue insists he is trying to keep his side grounded.
‘We don’t look that far ahead. We just focus on the next game. That is your job, to keep talking about it but our job is to concentrate on the next game.’
If they dispense with Kilkenny in a comfortable manner again on Sunday, even Micheál Donoghue — with his understated style — may find it difficult to keep the lid on the hype surrounding the All-Ireland champions.