Another road trip awaits the Galway senior hurlers this weekend when they travel to Mullingar to take on Westmeath on Saturday evening with an unbeaten record still intact after last weekend’s contest with Kilkenny, which finished 1-24 to 0-27.
With only seconds left to play, Galway appeared doomed to an agonising failure in Nowlan Park when Portumna’s Declan McLoughlin, only on the field a matter of minutes, whipped over an outstanding levelling point with the last puck of the game.
McLoughlin’s intervention on his championship debut was a moment to remember for a youngster whose rise to prominence has been remarkable.
Galway trailed by as many as six at one point in the second half, so they will take more from this share of the spoils with a Kilkenny team that showed flashes of class in a game that veered between the mundane and top drawer on numerous occasions.
Brian Concannon was the undoubted star of the Galway attack, sniping an early goal after exploiting space through the heart of the Kilkenny defence. The Killimordaly man was one of 14 players to register a score for the Tribesmen, but bizarrely Conor Whelan was the only other one to do so on multiple occasions from play.
With frees hard to come by, Evan Niland’s influence was negligible in comparison to his exploits against Wexford, while Gearóid McInerney and Daithí Burke were once again pillars of strength at the back. Evan Cody and TJ Reid blitzed Galway as half-time approached to put the home side two ahead, but they were deadlocked at the break on a 1-12 to 0-15 scoreline.
Derek Lyng’s side then bossed the third quarter despite playing against the elements, but importantly Galway recovered well and three of their replacements made scoring impacts in the closing minutes. Goal chances came and went at each end as Kevin Cooney and Mossy Keoghan both failed to raise green flags, but Shefflin will have been pleased with the battling qualities his side showed when the game was on the line.
Westmeath’s have already fallen to defeats by Kilkenny and most recently Dublin on 2-23 to 1-14 scorelines. Joe Fortune’s side was very competitive in the first half and led for a good portion after Niall Mitchell’s second minute goal.
Dublin, though, regrouped, and goals from Donal Burke and Cian Boland each side of the break to put them on the front foot. They never looked back once control had been established, while Fortune hit the headlines after taking exception to alleged post-match comments from Dublin boss Micheál Donoghue.
Galway will be looking to pocket a routine win with the minimum of fuss involved on Saturday, with an opportunity to give more game time to panel members as a potential Leinster final rematch against Kilkenny looms large in the distance.
Galway: E Murphy; J Grealish, G McInerney, P Mannion (0-1 ); D Burke (0-1 ), J Cooney (0-1 ), TJ Brennan; R Glennon (0-1 ), C Mannion (0-1 ); C Cooney (0-1 ), E Niland (0-6, 5fs ), C Fahy (0-1 ); K Cooney (0-1 ), C Whelan (0-2 ), B Concannon (1-5 ). Subs: J Flynn (0-1 ) for C Cooney (58m ), F Burke for Glennon (60m ), L Collins (0-1 ) for Fahy (65m ), D McLoughlin (0-1 ) for Whelan (69m ).
