EAMONN HIGH

Tribe missed chance in 2018 but it’s all or nothing for Joyce

THERE were 10 minutes on the clock when Eamonn Brannigan placed the ball, stepped back and set himself.

The talk before the 2018 Allireland semi-final was of the Dublin full-back line being vulnerable under the high ball, and the Tribesmen clearly decided to test out this theory early on.

As Ciaran Duggan’s cross-field delivery dropped, Cian O’sullivan and Philly Mcmahon jumped with Damien Comer, but he flicked the ball over Stephen Cluxton’s head to the net.

Three minutes later, Comer had goal on his mind again but Jonny Cooper intervened, giving away a penalty.

Only one man was going to take it. Brannigan went through his routine, and his contact was decent – but Cluxton saved brilliantly. From there to half-time, the teams exchanged scores. Just two in at the break, it seemed like it was anyone’s game.

But, by the hour mark, Dublin had added another nine points, Galway just three. It was a familiar story. Afterwards, Galway manager Kevin Walsh (above) cut a defiant figure, talking of the progress made by his team.

“I think that dressing-room is 24 or 25 on average age so if they want, as a group, to push on they will have to experience these types of games and what’s important is we were competitive in the first half,’’ he said.

Walsh gave Galway one more season – but they never really got out of the traps in 2019. Walsh headed for the exit door and the baton was passed to one of his teammates from the glory days, Padraic Joyce.

Back in 1998, Galway took Sam west of the Shannon. A Connacht county hadn’t finished top of the pile since 1965.

It was Joyce’s first season in maroon, and he scored the killer goal in the final against Kildare.

Joyce stayed with Galway until 2012, when he was 35, and was the last All-ireland winner from the 1990s to leave the inter-county scene.

Refreshingly, there was no talk of ‘the process’ with Joyce, or not looking past Galway’s opening game in the FBD League.

He wanted the big one, and made that clear when chatting to Galway Bay FM.

“I’m a Galway man – by heart and by nature – so we want to do our best for Galway,” he said.

“Our aim is to win another All-ireland – simple as that. Anything less will be seen as an underachievement.”

Nobody in Galway is talking about winning the All-ireland now.

It was John O’mahony who led Galway to All-irelands in 1998 and 2001 and he admits that the county probably didn’t adapt well to the new football landscape of the noughties.

“Galway’s football was probably classed as pure football and then you had the northern teams who played a different way,’’ he said.

“I admired it. It was defensively orientated, yet brilliantly organised. But I often wondered how Galway would have done if that type of football had existed at the time when we were doing well.

“That is a dynamic that has been there since. I wouldn’t criticise Galway for not adapting to that or implementing it, because Galway have their own style. But maybe it’s just a simple fact that they haven’t been able to cope with it.”

Joyce has been trying to find a balance that works. On Sunday, though, he faces a Mayo team who scored 8-43 in their wins over Sligo and Leitrim.

Galway need something special. They need to find a level they haven’t reached for a while.

This will be Joyce’s greatest challenge as a manager to date.