Galway manager Pádraic Joyce won’t have been sorry to see the back of 2024. A wafer-thin All-Ireland final defeat spoiled an otherwise impressive championship and the league was spent under awful pressure trying to scoop sufficient points to keep the county afloat in Division One, which he managed to do.
On Saturday in Salthill, he was able to reflect on a good win against their All-Ireland tormentors, champions Armagh.
Galway may have been flattered by a two-point half-time lead but they stretched away in the second half, harnessing the new FRC rules to strike three two-pointers within as many minutes from Man of the Match Cillian Ó Curraoin, Shane Walsh and Paul Conroy.
Joyce was happy with the outcome. “Yeah, look, we’ll take the win. We won it by six or seven in the end. I wouldn’t be overly happy with the way we started the game but obviously we grew into it after 17, 18 minutes. I think the penalty was a big turning point to get us back into the game. To go in at half-time two up after not playing overly well was great.
[ Galway ride the storm and hit Armagh hard in the second halfOpens in new window ]
“We kind of saw the game out in the second half. The twos (two-point scores) were crucial. We got three in a row, which gave us a huge gap then on the scoreboard so we were able to just sit back and play the game on our terms. But I wouldn’t be happy with a lot of stuff.
“We missed a good few there at the end, probably two or three good goal chances, a few scores when we were maybe just over-elaborating a bit too much. But it’s the first game of the league and I’d be very, very happy if someone told me this morning that we’d beat Armagh and get two points.”
Their play had been ponderous and slow to take advantage of abundant possession. He felt that a couple of early misses when attempting two-pointers may have inhibited the players.
“Maybe a bit. We had a few rushed shots as well, crazy shots really, but it’s something to work at to try and break down the blanket defence that was there. You have an extra body when the keeper comes up but we just didn’t use it. We were trying to work the ball too slow and too lateral. But when we started running the ball, we had a bit of joy out of that.”
His Armagh counterpart Kieran McGeeney claimed there had been confusion about the new rules concerning the 3v3 provision.
When Armagh were penalised in the second half for not having three players inside, Shane Walsh brought the prescribed 20-metre free back outside the 40-metre arc, beyond which kicks are worth two points.
“The 3v3 thing, it’s hard to say, but there is a clarification needed. We were sent a thing last night that said in the 3v3 rule, it’s a 20m penalty. But the one the referees get, they have a different rule, in red, (saying) they can take it out for two points. ”
“But then we asked for clarification during the week and we were sent it last night (Friday).”
Showing his instructions on his phone, McGeeney added: “Actually, I showed it to the ref and he showed me his and they’re completely different. That’s the one we got.
“So, we told them obviously, you know, you just take the [20m] free but that was a huge turning point. Like I can’t say for definite if we didn’t have three up, so, but listen, it wasn’t the reason we lost.
“They got one from play. We were attacking, I don’t know if the 3v3 was right or wrong. Nobody seemed to ... I think it was the fourth official who said we didn’t have three but then he (Walsh) was allowed to take a two-pointer. Double. They won the kick-out from that, another double. As I say, we had more problems than that.”
Overall, McGeeney felt his team had started well but tired and also complained that Andrew Murnin had been denied a penalty late in the match.
“We played reasonably well; we got sloppy. A lot of lads back with not enough in the legs. Galway played well, played the conditions well.
“The wind picked up. It was a pity we didn’t start with that gale that happened about 20 minutes beforehand. Listen, Galway used the conditions better in the second half than we did. Three two-pointers in the second half, an extra three points, a penalty going one way and not the other. It wasn’t a great game for us. Loads to improve on.”
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