The Galway minor hurlers and current All-Ireland champions were well beaten by 7-12 to 2-12 in Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final by a well-balanced and slick Tipperary team that will take a lot of beating by Limerick in the final.
The Tipp lads have already beaten Limerick by 17 points in the Munster final and they look odds on favourites to annex their first All-Ireland minor title since 2012.
Tipperary were on the back of four provincial championship games coming into last weekend's clash; Galway had only one semi-competitive outing against Antrim. Those different paths and preparations to last Sunday were clear to see by all and sundry.
Galway team manager Jeffrey Lynskey explained after the game that suggestions Galway enter into a round-robin style competition with early losers in Leinster, Munster and Antrim were not discussed by Central Council. And the Liam Mellows man will now ask the Galway county board to put the pressure on Leinster Council for entry to the provincial competition.
Lynskey's points were valid and well made.
“If we had learned lessons from last Sunday's defeat and had a game to come back, I promise you, they’d be a different side but we haven’t got that. And we haven’t had it for the last 30 or 40 years, even going back 100 years.
“The county board needs to put pressure on the provincial council and the HDC (Hurling Development Committee ), to say ‘look lads, it’s not good enough any more'.”
Lynskey added: “It’s not good enough you’re out in the wings, training all year long and the ratio of training to games is 70 training sessions for one competitive game – and then you’re out.
"But look, hats off to Tipp, they were a super force.”
Scorers for Galway: E Niland 0-6 (5f, 1 65 ), C Fahy 1-1, R Murphy 1-0, E Fahy 0-2, J Coyne, J Canning & L Forde 0-1 each.
Galway: J Forde, R Glennon, J Fitzpatrick, S Molloy, P Foley, I O’Brien, R Maher, C Fahy, J Coyne, E Fahy, J Canning, E Niland, L Forde, K Cooney, M Lynch.
Subs used: C Salmon, R Malone, I O’Shea, R Murphy, R O’Neill.
