A fourth successive final defeat in Croke Park since 2021, and a second to Mayo this season, what then portents for Galway this season?
Galway have played in four finals in Croke Park in less than two years, showing improvement under Padraic Joyce and building on the work under Kevin Walsh. However, last Sunday Mayo was the superior team, fully deserving of their 0-14 to 0-11 win. Yet, but for some wayward shooting on Galway’s part, some soft frees awarded to Mayo by referee Brendan Cawley, and a man-of-the-match performance by keeper Colm Reape, this game could have gone the other way.
Kevin McStay’s side had raced into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead before Galway got going at all. A first-half injury to Johnny Heaney was a huge loss for Galway, despite being replaced by Damien Comer. The Killannin player has been one of the most consistent performers and hardest workers in the maroon jersey for years, and his loss to the half forward line left a void that does not come naturally to any of the other Galway forwards.
Reape’s late tackle on Heaney probably deserved more than a yellow card - if he was an outfield player, it would likely have been a black card, and for 10 minutes Reape would have had no impact on the game. Instead he scored three frees and made some tremendous saves across the 70 minutes, most notably from Comer’s fierce strike late in the second half.
Much has been made of Shane Walsh missing two 45s with his left foot, with television pundits claiming he would have kicked them with his right had it been championship football. This is nonsense. Walsh is a supremely gifted footballer with both feet and earlier had scored a free outside the 45 with his left. He has been kicking and scoring frees from all angles with both feet since well before his first match in Croke Park for St Jarlath’s in 2011, and he will continue to kick them with both feet, regardless of what pundits say.
Connor Gleeson has improved enormously since he was first put in the Galway goal in 2020. And he showed on Sunday that he is well able to claim a high ball, making a brave save in the second half when getting his body in the way of the ball and knocking it out for a 45. All that seems to be missing from his game is conviction on his short kick-outs - they sometimes dribble out to the wing back or corner back, leaving Galway instantly under pressure.
Bernard Power showed the impact an efficient short kick-out can have on a game when he played against Kerry, and if Gleeson could learn from his teammate, or have more confidence in his short game, he would improve considerably.
Galway now have another two weeks to fix these wrongs, while more minutes on the pitch are needed for Comer, Walsh and Ian Burke to ensure they are flying fit for the visit of Mayo or trip to Roscommon on April 22/23.
This Galway team has shown its capabilities during the league, but need to tighten up in defence, while also ensuring the forwards enjoy a little more possession. If they can manage to get this right from April to July, they will not be far off reaching another All-Ireland final.
