Galway GAA Discussion Thread #2

Can you put a hammering like that down to the ref. I'm not sure of the relative strength of the teams but that was a tanking.

No you can't. Galway well beaten all over the field. Tactics were non existent. High balls into Kevin Cooney when he was doubled marked........

The reason I mentioned the ref was four incidences that happen directly after each other. Dublin half back charges out with the ball trying to burst through two Galway defenders. Held up. Free out to Dublin. A minute later Jack Grealish tried the same. No free. Ball turned over. Dublin point.

Galway win a line ball. Cathal Mannion acts the clown. Two bookings. Ball thrown in (right descision) 30 seconds later Dulin win a free off GMAC a few fist pumps and roars and the Dublin lad throws a dig at GMAC he pushes back ball brought forward 447 yards.

Just frustration. Long way to go for a hiding

All Galways best hurling in the last few years is when they went short. Going long doesn't suit our skill set or players available. Unfortunately as soon as we put a middling big lad up front we just lump ball on top of him.

I presume you're not including 2017 in that when we had plenty of men up front who could look out for themselves?

They were 4 years older last year and a lot of their legs and pace were gone. It was apparent in the Dublin game and blindingly obvious in the Deise match. That's new mgmt's first priority to restore drive and freshness to the team.

Because going well in the League last year stood us well come championship.

Walsh Cup is only Micky Mouse. I'd expect the likes of Fleming and Glennon to feature with a better mix of established players (not necessarily lads up to anything at intercounty anymore though like Niall Burke or Padraic Mannion).

Great game of hurling this.

Can you strike a penalty past the 21metre line?

Hard luck to Thomas'. Great performance. Robbed really. The Fennelly penalty was charging so should have been a free out. Best team lost.

Did he not have hands on his helmet?

Yeah he dragged him down, brain dead stuff. All he had to do was put his arms out and the ref would have had to give a free out for charging, the forward was looking for a pen and the defender fell for it. Why did a back not go and meet him well outside the big square and foul him there if he had to.

For the second goal the way the defenders lined up was a mess, the free was taken nowhere near it was given tho.

Thought Fennelly / Headd were both in the process of falling over when instinctively Headd grabbed him - very unlucky. Possibly a more experienced player would have known how limited Fennelly is and played him accordingly. St. Thomas' fault at bit too though, a stray pass in midfield (not for the first time) was intercepted, leading to the penalty. Did Shamrocks wing-back get MOTM? If so, why not TJ?

For all the errors they made, it was cruel on Toms. Kept the likes of Eoin Cody and Adrian Mullen largely quiet, certainly in the second half. Could have possibly gotten a bit more out of Daragh Burke, Regan and Farrell but in the context of the match, Shane Cooney's presence would surely have tilted it their way.

I'm not claiming that the walsh Cup means anything or that we should be looking to win it. My point is, if you want to try out new blood then firing a load of inexperienced young fellas into a team is a waste of time. You learn nothing about them unless they are part of a more experienced group. A player not up to standard will pull down 2 or 3 lads round him as they try to cover his deficiencies. 3 of them in a team and the whole thing is a shambles.

If and its a big if Ballygunnar keep Ballyhale to a goal then they ll win. St Thomas's have no excuse for letting that goal in. The organisation around the goal before the free was so poor.