6-29 is some score to be hitting in early January
Agreed. I left a funeral in the new cemetery that Saturday morning to go to Dublin to watch it. Wondered why i bothered. Total waste of everyoneâs time.
1 Like
Will ye win it out?
We will.
Galway show lust for goals as Henry Shefflin hails Eamon OâSheaâs arrival to management team
Galway 6-29, Laois 2-20
Galway manager Henry Shefflin during the Dioralyte Walsh Cup Round 3 clash against Laois at Duggan Park
Padraic Mannion of Galway in action against David Dooley of Laois
Galway manager Henry Shefflin during the Dioralyte Walsh Cup Round 3 clash against Laois at Duggan Park
Padraic Mannion of Galway in action against David Dooley of Laois
Frank Roche
Today at 02:30
Henry Shefflin knew plenty about the art of goalscoring, as 27 green flags during his record-shredding championship career underline.
As a coach and manager with Tipperary, Eamon OâShea always espoused the creation of space as a conduit to goals â just ask Lar Corbett or SĂŠamus Callanan.
Now Shefflin and OâShea are working in tandem, and yesterday Galway amassed six goals against an embattled and increasingly ragged Laois rearguard â and it could have been more.
A sign of things to come from the Tribesmen this year? Steady on, their manager cautions. âIâd say itâs far too early, to be honest with you,â Shefflin insisted after this 21-point demolition at Duggan Park, Ballinasloe.
âLast year in the (Walsh Cup) first round here we scored three or four against Westmeath when we could have scored three or four more, so itâs way too early. Itâs down the line, when the big guns come to town, when youâll know about it.â
Still, the early portents here were promising. In his third year in the west, the pressure mounting to crash through the glass ceiling of the All-Ireland semi-finals, Shefflin has enlisted the Galway-based OâShea as a key addition to his management team.
Whereas Laois scarcely qualify as the acid test, there was still much to admire in the goal threat provided by some of Shefflinâs less heralded names.
Rookie Alex Connaire, a late call-up after Jamie Ryan was injured in the warm-up, opened the floodgates inside four minutes and finished with 2-1 after his name.
Declan McLoughlin, whose last-gasp point secured stalemate with Kilkenny in last yearâs Leinster round-robin, went one better. His hat-trick of goals â one midway through the first half, followed by two in a three-minute burst during the third quarter â all carried the stamp of a predator, leaving his marker for dust as the prelude to a low, venomous finish.
âJason Flynn completed the goalfest on his way to 1-9 â a top-scoring feat shared with Stephen Maher of Laois.
Afterwards, Shefflin surmised that the surprisingly benign pitch and weather conditions âlent themselvesâ to such a high-scoring return.
âLook, Laois are probably on the development scale and I think they started really well and thought they looked dangerous with some very good hurlers,â the Kilkenny legend began.
âThey probably just fell away a little bit, and that creates that space then for the goals to go in. So I think 10 minutes into the second half you could say the match was probably done and dusted, so I wouldnât be putting too much credit in the bank for some of those goals.â
Asked about OâSheaâs addition, Shefflin remarked: âHeâs got a wealth of knowledge and experience. Heâs a proven winner and just very passionate about the game.
âWe know the last couple of years wasnât good enough, so we are trying to get better both as a management and as players. He brings a lot of added dimensions to that set-up ⌠he knows the club scene very well, which is very important.
âThe cultural fit and the identity was very apt, so weâre delighted to have him on board.â
As it happened, OâSheaâs own son â Donal â was one of the Galway tyros to impress in a team sprinkled with a few old stagers among the wannabes.
OâShea scored three points (two from play) but it was his distribution from midfield that really caught the eye. He finished with four goal assists, loading the gun for Connaire (four minutes), McLoughlin (17), McLoughlinâs hat-trick (44) and Flynn (69). Alongside, the lively Gavin Lee chipped in with 0-4.
Laois had their moments, primarily in the first half when they caused some aerial discomfort for the Galway half-backs. Aaron Dunphy led their resistance, shooting 0-3 before the break and 1-4 in total, while David Dooley fed Maher for a 25th-minute goal that briefly cut the deficit to three.
By half-time, however, they were 2-13 to 1-9 adrift and the introduction of Evan Niland (for a dazzling 0-7 cameo) turned the screw even further. Some goal-line heroics from âkeeper Enda Rowland â including a spectacular penalty save to deny Flynn â couldnât mask the gulf in class, Dunphyâs 62nd-minute goal offering only fleeting respite.
âWe realise where we are, as regards trying to get up to that level â like, Galway are a top-four team,â manager Willie Maher reminded.
âIt was a positive day out for us. The score didnât reflect that, but we learned an awful lot about individuals and pressure-tested them in the most extreme circumstances for us.â
His opposite number will have at least one more âlearning dayâ â away to Dublin in the Walsh Cup semi-finals â before the more serious action begins.
Shefflin described Galwayâs injury situation as ânot greatâ but starting to improve. âA couple of them will be touch and go (for the start of the league) â hamstrings and stuff like that,â he explained. âBut the difficulty now is the Fitzgibbon is coming to the fore so thatâs an added dimension because we have 16 or 17 players involved.â
1 Like
The Sportsground in Galway is set to be the next stadium to sell its naming rights with an American multinational making a deal with Connacht Rugby.
> It is believed that US company Dexcom, which is set to open its first European manufacturing plant in Athenry, approached Galway GAA with a view to securing the naming rights for the county grounds at Pearse Stadium in Salthill but this did not progress when it was made clear that Galway GAA had a strong preference to maintain âPearseâ in the name.
Galway GAA have been seeking a title sponsor for the stadium in Salthill, which was redeveloped 20 years ago and where floodlights are set to be installed in the coming year, but have made it known that they are keen to continue honouring the 1916 patriot PĂĄdraig Pearse.
The ground was named in his honour when it was opened in 1957 and was redeveloped with a then capacity of 34,000 in 2003.
Dexcom, a company which has its headquarters in San Diego and which is renowned for manufacturing glucose monitor devices which help manage diabetes, announced last year that it would create up to 1,000 jobs when it opens its first European manufacturing site in Athenry.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is expected in Galway this Friday when the sod will be turned at the IDA site in Athenry in what will be a âŹ300m investment over the next five years and it is also expected to be announced that the Sportsground will be renamed Dexcom Park or Dexcom Stadium this week.
With the exception of OâShea and Jayo, this looks an interesting selection for the Walsh Tin Cup exhibition tourney semi final v the Hackeens
2 Likes
Why with the exception of those two in particular?
The Galway âdevelopmentâ squads are doing their best to lower expectations for the season in these done games
Big Davy Burke has his boys purring.
Dioralyte Walsh cup.
When did that start
2 Likes
Sure itâs basically a 3rd team up against half of Roscommonâs first team and half their second team. Was only going to be one result. Iâd say theyâll be happy to get 2 or 3 off it to round off the championship panel.
This is essentially an intermediate Galway selection so they should be winning this but tis a poor enough spectacle
Thereâs a real plasticy feeling to proceedings.
When Eamon Ryan ruined Bord na Mona
And gave everyone the shits.
Are you asking me why I have picked those on those 2, or the rest of the selection?
Not too much the Galway management will take from this but they definitely have a talent in Cillian OâCurraoin. The one lad out there who wouldnât look out of place in the full Galway side.
1 Like
Why youâve picked on those two in particular.
To me, it looks like there are a lot of other âless interestingâ picks elsewhere and OâShea in midfield is kinda interesting?
OâShea in a senior jersey doesnât interest me at all. Heâs not up to it. OâShea and Niland on the same pitch leaves us playing with 13. Considering Jason Flynn has had his time thatâs 3 passengers. The 6 backs are interesting, the Cooney brothers have promise and McLoughlin is a lively youngster who has potential.
2 Likes