The Galway senior hurlers will be looking to light up Halloween night with a frightening display of their championship aspirations when they finally get their Liam McCarthy campaign underway against Wexford on Saturday in Croke Park (6.15pm ).
Shane O’Neill’s first championship contest in charge of Galway could not have pitted the Limerick native into a more testing sideline duel against the force of nature that is Davy Fitzgerald, who will surely have his squad peaked for action given their club season concluded way back on August 23.
Fitzgerald’s plans were disrupted somewhat when news of a positive Covid-19 case within his squad was reported on October 15, but since then no more suspected cases in either camp have come to light.
However, the plight of the Offaly hurlers last week brought into sharp focus the tightrope all inter-county squads are walking right now. With the possibility of being classified by the HSE as a close contact of a confirmed case, there is no real certainty until the day of the game who will be available for selection.
This really is a journey into the unknown in many ways for both sides, given the time of year, unusual playing conditions, and lack of atmosphere that will be keenly felt at Croke Park.
Having experimented somewhat with their team selections during the National League, the Galway management will surely now be looking to send out a team brimming with household names.
The return of Joseph Cooney is a massive boost, and he could possibly line out alongside two of St Thomas’ defensive heroes in the half-back line, with Shane Cooney and Fintan Burke probably the two players whose impressive club form makes them the most likely to make their championship debuts.
Goalkeeper Eanna Murphy is another pressing for inclusion, but it seems unlikely that he will be thrown into this particular arena, while Ja Mannion and Seán Linnane are solid options in the attacking third, having also seen game time in the spring.
O’Neill’s main injury headache, a sizeable one at that, surrounds Daithí Burke, who has made plenty of unlikely returns from ailments in the past. The future positioning of the Turloughmore man was a major source of debate in recent months, but now all Galway fans are praying to see Burke fit enough to line out in any sort of capacity.
Galway are fortunate to have a capable deputy in Gearóid McInerney, who can slot in at number three, but it will be very interesting to see who plays each side of him, with Aidan Harte usually assigned the free role when facing Wexford’s multi-faceted tactical system, while captain Padraic Mannion made headlines in the attacking third for Ahascragh-Fohenagh.
Given the amount of time he has had to work with his players, it will be intriguing to see if Fitzgerald tweaks his game plan to throw Galway off balance. Galway undoubtedly have the more skillful players and have had the better of this rivalry in recent years, so on whose terms will the game be played out?
Galway will hope one player to get plenty of touches is Joe Canning, whose lack of game time due to injury since the 2018 All-Ireland final loss has been particularly frustrating. Galway have plenty of firepower in the shape of Cathal Mannion, Conor Whelan, and Conor Cooney, but Canning has the X-factor that Wexford fear.
Tactical adjustments during the water breaks are also something new for inter-county managers to adapt to, with the consensus being that Wexford will try to stay within touching distance of Galway until the three-quarter time when Fitzgerald will introduce fresh legs to test Galway’s resolve.
With no crowd to stir the emotions of the Wexford players, Fitzgerald may look to stoke the fires on the sideline if any controversial decisions are made by referee Colm Lyons or his assistants. Galway will need to hit the ground running, but in the current climate, they are given a healthy vote of confidence to produce the fireworks needed to reach the Leinster final.
