The Galway senior hurlers begin their Allianz National League Division 1A campaign this Saturday with a trip to the south east to take on Wexford in a game that will also provide the chance to collect silverware as it doubles up as the Walsh Cup final. (throw-in 5pm )
Given that recent meetings between the two counties have been tight affairs, and that their last contest ended in a draw last April at the same venue, there is the novel prospect of a penalty shoot-out being required should the game end tied and the league points on offer are shared.
Given the prospect of relegation from division one would now seem quite remote for the top tier teams, it will be interesting to see how managers treat this competition in the second year in which the split season between intercounty and club action is in place.
Henry Shefflin has used the three Walsh Cup games to throw his eye over the wider panel who are pushing for more meaningful involvement, while also slowly reintroducing some of the more seasoned campaigners along the way. With college campaigns still very much in full flow, and Wexford first up when the Leinster championship gets underway in April, it is likely that both sides will remain in experimental mode.
A late Richie Lawlor goal helped Wexford seal a four-point win over Kilkenny in their final Walsh Cup group game which, combined with Offaly’s dramatic win over Laois the following day, sealed Darragh Egan’s side’s place in the final. Egan, similarly to Shefflin, is embarking on his second season in intercounty management, and he admitted recently that plenty of lessons were learned in 2022, despite his extensive previous experience within backroom teams at this level.
Wexford slumped to a heavy defeat at the league semi-final stage last year, and took time to get back up to speed once the championship got going. They were fortunate to escape with a draw from their clash with Galway in the opening round, a game that was mired in controversy late on when Conor Cooney was penalised for allegedly delaying over a free.
Injury prevention and avoidance will surely be key priorities for both managers given the condensed schedule, but both will also be looking for signs of evolution and improvement from their playing group who now know implicitly what is demanded of them. Both sets of supporters will have felt there was more in their teams last year and will be desperate for a positive performance on Saturday.
When the sides met in the league last year in Pearse Stadium, Wexford emerged victorious on a 2-15 to 0-15 scoreline as the Slaneysiders went through the group stage unbeaten. Galway have home fixtures against Cork and Limerick to look forward to after this game, while Wexford travel to Westmeath next time out before facing Clare.
In Division 1B, Micheál Donoghue’s Dublin side travel south to take on Waterford in Fraher Field on Sunday, Kilkenny make the trek north to take on Antrim, while Tipperary begin their campaign with a home fixture against Laois.
