HERE WE COMER
Joyce vows his Damien driven Tribe will put on ‘one helluva performance’ in final
PADRAIC JOYCE has vowed Galway will deliver one hell of a performance in the All-ireland final.
The man who scored 10 points in the 2001 decider triumph over Meath – nine of them in the second half – knows a thing or two about producing on the big day.
No Galway team since 1983 has made an All-ireland final without Joyce’s involvement.
But there were plenty of whispers over the past three Covid-hit years about the Tribe legend’s no nonsense proclamation on his anointing as Kevin Walsh’s replacement back in late 2019.
There was no skirting around Joyce’s aim as he declared anything less than an All-ireland title in his tenure would be a failure. Talk about laying down the gauntlet. Successive Connacht final defeats by Mayo in straight knockout Championships were avenged this year as Galway inched their way through to a first All-ireland decider since 2001.
The talk of not being able to win a Championship game at Croke Park – it didn’t happen between 2001 and the 2018 Super 8s triumph over Kerry – is starting to abate too.
That same directness and unequivocal belief that was there on Joyce’s unveiling was there again after the Derry win.
“We are going to give one helluva performance here in two weeks’ time,” he vowed. “Semi-finals are for winning. It mightn’t be pretty at times but I said it from day one when I got the job, it is about winning the All-ireland.
“It has taken us three years to get here. We’re here now so we are definitely going to make the most of it.”
It’s also worth noting the record of Joyce’s trainer Cian O’neill who helped Cork to their shock 2020 Munster semi-final triumph over Kerry.
This is the fourth different county O’neill has coached to an All-ireland final – Tipperary hurlers (2009/10), Mayo (2012) and Kerry (2014/15).
Galway had a motto going into the Derry game – Find a Way – which was pinned up on the dressing room wall.
The proof of it was the penalty shootout victory over Armagh in the quarter-final, after recovering from conceding two late goals in normal time and a goal in extra-time.
Joyce said: “After the way we won it – being six up, letting them back into it, the row – normally in times gone by we might have folded a bit.
“But we took a lot of solace from that. We performed really well in extra-time, we had great coolness in the penalties.
The biggest thing for us was trying to get lads mentally back up. We have to become a team that performs in Croke Park day in day out. I think we have done it to a degree this year.”
Key on Saturday was patience, something they showed in abundance despite not scoring in the opening 22 minutes.
Damien Comer was the gamebreaker, with his two first half points every bit as important as his two second half goals.
The pacey Conor Mccluskey largely marked Shane Walsh out of it.
But Walsh was four from four on his frees, including the controversial Hawkeye 45 that was eventually given, and he had no wide. Joyce revealed a remarkable stat about the 29-year-old afterwards.
“They were difficult frees on his left foot but Shane struck them really, really well,” said his manager. “He hasn’t missed a free for us all year believe it or not. They were pressure kicks. We got the goal then which was the key turning point in it.”
The crucial goal came when Comer spun Brendan Rogers, who slipped, to blast to the net on 46 minutes.
The timing couldn’t have been worse for Derry as it capped an unanswered 1-3 from Galway and left the Ulster champs six points back.
His second goal on 64 minutes, when Conor Glass was turned over trying to carry the fight to Galway and goalkeeper Odhran Lynch was up the field, laid any remaining doubt to rest.
John Daly won the ball and found Liam Silke who hit Comer for a 30-yard finish.
“It’s been a phenomenal experience for them,” said Derry boss Rory Gallagher. “We believed we were good enough to beat Galway and, with the way we set out to play early on, we should have been in a position to win in the last 10 minutes.”