The Galway hurlers will take on Waterford at 2.30pm this Sunday at Pearse Stadium. It is the first time these two teams have met since the Déise sensationally snatched victory when a Galway win looked in the bag last summer in the All-Ireland quarter final.
Galway and manager John McIntyre will be keen to avenge that defeat to some degree and collect the two points this weekend.
Galway have been impressive in the Walsh Cup and are undefeated thus far in 2010 and that is something their manager is keen to continue.
“We need to win on Sunday for a whole variety of different reasons,” says McIntyre. “ We have not played at home in front of our own supporters since last April in the league and we want to do well on our home patch.
“A win this Sunday would give us a good platform for the rest of the league and, with the Tipperary and Kilkenny games away from home, it is important to collect the points in all our home games,”
Waterford had a facile win over Dublin last Sunday by 4-13 to 0-12 and, despite missing some big name players, McIntyre is fully aware of the task ahead.
“Davy Fitzgerald, the same as ourselves, is blooding a lot of new players, and they will travel to Galway with no fear. They play two big men up front, Kevin Moran and Gary Hurney. And Stephen Molumphy is back at centre-forward so our defenders will have to be on top of their game. They are missing some good players, but that gives opportunities to other newer players and they will be energetic and keen for the fray. We expect a tough game, but our entire panel is looking forward to playing at home in front of Galway supporters and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
The Waterford players who really caught the eye against Dublin were Kevin Moran at wing-forward who notched 1-05 from play, and team captain Stephen Molumphy, who was just back from a six month tour of duty with the Irish Army in Chad, hit 1-1 from centre-forward. The other wing-forward, Maurice Shanahan, also confirmed his talent with 0-6 (5fs ).
Full back Liam Lawlor and left corner back Noel Connors were imperious and it will be interesting to see how Galway’s inside line perform on Sunday.
Galway are on the back of a nervous win over Limerick in Kilmallock last weekend, but at least the two points were collected and to be honest the team was on a hiding to nothing either way - expected to win before they even hit the Oranmore Roundabout.
What was impressive for Galway was that all the substitutes brought on made a positive contribution and it was good to see the likes of Iarla Tannian, Niall Healy, John Lee, Fergal Moore and especially David Collins back in the maroon jersey after a long absence through injury.
Galway have been experimenting and there are expected to be more changes to the starting 15 on Sunday too.
The Galway management team is hoping for a big crowd on Sunday to support the team. ;
“It would be fantastic if the Galway supporters came out in big numbers to cheer on the team on Sunday,” says McIntyre. “ There is a small buzz around the panel at the moment and we want to build on that this weekend too. It should be a good game and I would ask all the Galway sporting public to come out and create a good atmosphere at the ground.”
*Brian Gavin (Offaly ) is the referee and the game is live on TG4.
