Galway GAA discussion thread

Diabhal Beag · 12-05-2018 09:29PM

Much better second half. Whelan excellent, Mac and Padraig Mannion were very good. Thought the fullbacks were ropey and that second goal was a killer to give away.

Offaly keeper stopped probably 5 more goals with super saves.

Lot of work to do to get back up to 2017 form but we score goals now which is a big plus.

MfMan · 12-05-2018 10:56PM

Going for goals seems to be a new policy for the year. Very poor first half; touch, handling; passing, rising ball etc. all badly off. Moved up a good gear or two after the interval, got stuck in better and scores flowed a bit better. Joe Cooney MOTM in the first half, Whelan probably all through. Big improvement in particular from GMac in part 2. Not David Burke's best game or anything but is a Rolls of a player. Sean Loftus will push Coen hard for a starting slot. Auspicious debut for Concannon, needs to steady up on his shot selection a little.

spurshero · 13-05-2018 11:40AM

Best of luck to the lads today . Leave it all on the pitch and what will be will be.

vid36 · 13-05-2018 06:02PM

A great win but a dreadful game.

Happyilylost · 13-05-2018 06:07PM

vid36 wrote:

A great win but a dreadful game.

Great to win. But worrying performance. Subs got us out of jail.

13-05-2018 06:09PM

I don't think I've ever felt so miserable after a big win.

As all that was proven in the end was that KW hasn't a clue how to coach a team.

There's a simple tactic to employ if you go a man up... Everyone man's up and you have a spare player.
You get no use of it with a blanket as nobody is accountable for anyone so Mayo players could find time and space.
Similarly in attack if you leave more forward when you break overlaps will transpire as the spare man creates opportunities.

We were blessed with the spare man meaning we were able to win our kick outs but again like in the league final while a man up we were letting Mayo kick them short which is criminal.

We advance, we'll likely be in the Super 8s now but we need a coach in there if we want to win AIs.
The quality of players has improved over the years... The coaching and game management has not.

reap-a-rat · 13-05-2018 06:10PM

Happily conceding every Mayo kickout when a man up was criminal imo. I just don't understand it.

threeball · 13-05-2018 06:14PM

Only positives from today were Shane Walsh taking a game by the scruff of the neck, the quality of Sean Kelly and Ian Burke.
It also is now obvious that Kieran Molloy needs to replace Gary o Donnell at wing back. We need more attacking threats and Gary is an out and out defender

miocicmma · 13-05-2018 06:19PM

Well done to Galway. They have now beaten Mayo for the last 3 years in a row in the Connacht Championship. I don’t think either team played well today. It wasn’t a great game. Mayo were very wasteful with their shooting and a major turning point in the game was O’Connor’s sending off. Again the lack of discipline from this Mayo team has cost them big-time. It was Higgins in this game last year, Vaughan in the All Ireland last year. They have to cut out that shyte.

Utopia Parkway · 13-05-2018 06:31PM

Think Walsh picked the wrong team to start and said so beforehand. Ian Burke simply has to play. He's by far and away the best playmaker and link man in the squad. Attack looks much more fluent when he's on the pitch. Brannigan fair enough his ankle injury prevented him from starting. Wasn't mad on Flynn starting either and he was poor enough for 60 minutes but to be fair he was very good in the last 15 odd minutes or so. Won a couple of kickouts and fisted a point.

Duggan had a fine game in midfield. Sean Kelly very good as well after he came on. Lad has some engine on him. Comer looked like he has going to run rampant in the first half but once Mayo got more defensive after half-time they got a lot more bodies around him. Shane Walsh the usual curate's egg display. Kicked a couple of great scores and dropped as many into the keepers arms.

Fair play to the full-back line for staying on the pitch after they all picked up early enough yellow cards. Some silly ones too for jersey pulling.

Wouldn't be surprised if Conroy has a fractured cheekbone.

Michael Daly seems to have disappeared since his injury. Was he even on the bench today?

I understand Walsh wanting to solidify this team defensively but at some stage he's going to have allow them a bit more scope to take the game to the opposition.

Best wishes to Tom Parsons. Looked a nasty one sadly.

Doctors room ghost · 13-05-2018 06:55PM

Well done the footballers

O.A.P · 13-05-2018 07:15PM

This morning I would have been happy enough to know Galway would win by 3 points.
That was shocking stuff though a terrible game of football , its hard watch as good a team as we have now play a stop them first and see what happens kind of rubbish.
The quality in that Galway team is enough to stop the jackeens IMO but they have to be let play football.

MattressRick · 13-05-2018 07:18PM

Defence needs to be helped out by bringing lads back but we need to let the lads off the leash too. In space there towards the end they looked good to watch. Burke and Kelly made the difference.
Awful the way it never looked like mayo had 14. Sideline should've forced the lads to push up on mayo kickouts

Diabhal Beag · 13-05-2018 07:20PM

Don't care how awful it was to watch. Great result. The whinging of some (not all) Mayo fans on the way out was music to my ears.

Shane Walsh needs to stop dicking about dropping handy scores short. There's a lot of showboating holding him back from being a great player.

Thought Cathal Sweeney had his best game for us today. Duggan was excellent too. Cooke made the loss of Conroy bearable.

Burke and Kelly swung it in our favour.

threeball · 13-05-2018 07:31PM

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Don't care how awful it was to watch. Great result. The whinging of some (not all) Mayo fans on the way out was music to my ears.

Shane Walsh needs to stop dicking about dropping handy scores short. There's a lot of showboating holding him back from being a great player.

Thought Cathal Sweeney had his best game for us today. Duggan was excellent too. Cooke made the loss of Conroy bearable.

Burke and Kelly swung it in our favour.

I'd be first to criticise Shane Walsh but he was the one player driving Galway on before Kelly and Burke entered the fray.

Easy to read alot into this game but it's a must not lose derby and they're always crap. However I completely disagree with dropping 15 back. We should never see Comer, Ian Burke and at least one other coming beyond the opposition's 45. If you want to keep teams honest we need to have a threat when it breaks down for them. We're only inviting 14 to attack rather than 10 or 11.

Our strike runners, brannigan and Walsh should never come deeper than our 45. A small change like that will make us twice the team and extremely dangerous.

miocicmma · 13-05-2018 07:40PM

With all due respect to Sligo, Galway should make it to the Connacht final and face Roscommon. It's a game that Galway can't afford to come into with complacency. That's what they did, to an extent, last year and Roscommon punished them for it. Roscommon are a dangerous team, The Murtagh's, The Smiths, Devaney, Kilroy etc can create and rack up the scores as well as anyone.

flatty · 13-05-2018 08:32PM

Truthfully I'd rather have lost and not had that awful injury to Parsons in the game. A giant of a footballer, I wish him all the best. I found it hard to get excited after that. Galway lads gave everything, and Kelly was a fine sub. We wouldn't deserve to win much playing like that, but maybe its horses for courses. Any team beating mayo away is there or thereabouts. Mayo shooting cost them.

flatty · 13-05-2018 08:33PM

Proud of the galway lads one and all though. A great honest effort.

Diabhal Beag · 13-05-2018 08:38PM

threeball wrote: »

I'd be first to criticise Shane Walsh but he was the one player driving Galway on before Kelly and Burke entered the fray

Oh absolutely and he had a similar leader performance last year in the same fixture. Crucial player already but just small things like the tame shots in critical moments could cost us. Died with his boots on today.

djPSB · 13-05-2018 08:51PM

threeball wrote: »

I'd be first to criticise Shane Walsh but he was the one player driving Galway on before Kelly and Burke entered the fray.

Easy to read alot into this game but it's a must not lose derby and they're always crap. However I completely disagree with dropping 15 back. We should never see Comer, Ian Burke and at least one other coming beyond the opposition's 45. If you want to keep teams honest we need to have a threat when it breaks down for them. We're only inviting 14 to attack rather than 10 or 11.

Our strike runners, brannigan and Walsh should never come deeper than our 45. A small change like that will make us twice the team and extremely dangerous.

Comers and Ian Burke played inside is as good as any inside line that's out there. Hopefully see more of it over the next few months.

threeball · 13-05-2018 09:10PM

djPSB wrote: »

Comers and Ian Burke played inside is as good as any inside line that's out there. Hopefully see more of it over the next few months.

Personally I don't see why, when the ball is turned over, the wing forwards don't drop to wing back with the wing backs dropping in between the half and full back lines. The midfielders will naturally gravitate to either side of the centre back. This leaves you with 5 across the half back line, 5 behind them and 4 forwards. It's simple to do and leaves a real attacking threat with your ff line and centre forward still inside their 45.

5yrs ago we needed the system we play now. Right now we have the players to defend correctly whilst still being an attacking force.

dinneenp · 14-05-2018 10:44AM

The calm before the storm (click on for larger image)

grbear · 14-05-2018 01:41PM

Might as well throw up my own scatterbrain analysis

-Didn't expect a classic, didn't get one.

-Like most people I was surprised the team Walsh named earlier in the week actually started.

-Ian Burke has to start against Sligo. Brannigan should be in as well but I think its a given that he starts when he is fully fit. Burkes linkup play is simply better than the rest of the forwards so we get more out of everyone when he is on the pitch. A few more weeks training with the squad should make him even better.

-I thought Shane Walsh did good enough yesterday. He could still be better but he took two good points from play and there wasn't as much clueless play from him yesterday. This pleases me.

-I'm surprised we finished with 15. When the full-back line were all booked I was certain Mayo were going to try to really target them for another booking but that pressure didn't really materialise

-O'Connors red card was a shocker in terms of how braindead it was. Galway might still have won if Mayo had 15 players on the pitch but that red certainly helped Galway.

-The goal was beautifully worked. I know the focus will be on how dour the game was but that flash of genuine brilliance shows the threat this team possess.

-Beating Mayo is always good. Always.

SarahOH · 14-05-2018 05:11PM

Being cheeky and assuming it’s a Galway/Roscommon match up on June 17th, where would it be played??

Diabhal Beag · 14-05-2018 05:14PM

Should we beat Sligo it'd be Hyde Park because we played them in Salthill last year.

fearruanua · 15-05-2018 08:56AM

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Should we beat Sligo it'd be Hyde Park because we played them in Salthill last year.

Would I be right in saying that we have to go to the Hyde the next two times we have to play the rossies?

GS11 · 15-05-2018 10:16AM

threeball wrote: »

Personally I don't see why, when the ball is turned over, the wing forwards don't drop to wing back with the wing backs dropping in between the half and full back lines. The midfielders will naturally gravitate to either side of the centre back. This leaves you with 5 across the half back line, 5 behind them and 4 forwards. It's simple to do and leaves a real attacking threat with your ff line and centre forward still inside their 45.

5yrs ago we needed the system we play now. Right now we have the players to defend correctly whilst still being an attacking force.

Agree, so simple, but it makes so much sense that it will never happen.

15-05-2018 12:59PM

fearruanua wrote: »

Would I be right in saying that we have to go to the Hyde the next two times we have to play the rossies?

No.

They sacrificed that when they took the replay in McHale Park.

fearruanua · 15-05-2018 02:40PM

gilberto_eire wrote: »

No.

They sacrificed that when they took the replay in McHale Park.

Ah right. I knew there was something alright when the Hyde was been resurfaced but wasn't sure.

BENDYBINN · 16-05-2018 04:22PM

What odds are Galway for the double?
Certainly on the cards after the weekend!

Galway GAA discussion thread

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