All-Ireland SHC final: Galway's stellar defender tells Ian O'Riordan why the next 12 days are all about mental strength

If it's only 12 days before the All-Ireland hurling final it must be time to start the countdown. Cork against Galway: not just a novel pairing by modern standards, but also a game with the potential to be a modern classic, or at least another memorable goal-fest.

Galway's most celebrated defender, Ollie Canning, was the first to submit his thoughts at a media briefing in Dublin yesterday.

Between now and Sunday week he's likely to have repeated himself dozens of times, because essentially Galway's challenge boils down to three key factors - score some more goals, stop Cork from scoring any more, and be extra careful not to believe the hype.

"Obviously we'll be trying to close down at the back a little more than the last day," said Canning, referring to the four semi-final goals leaked against Kilkenny. "Because that shows there are still some mistakes in our game.

"But then, as somebody said after that game, if you drive at 150 miles per hour you're bound to crash at some stage. We've looked back on the video now and it was a fantastic game to be involved in, but giving away 4-18 is a big score. So we'll have to try to improve on that.

"From a supporter's point of view we do hope it's another exciting game, but we'll really just be concentrating on winning. And of course Cork will too. But we were joking about it there, saying that if the game was going a bit dead we'd just let one or two go in, just for the crack."

Canning's versatility and reliability have been among the trademarks of Galway hurling for several years now, but he'd be the first to admit he has little to show for it.

Now that they are in the All-Ireland final it's clear they'll be doing everything they can to finish off the job, and that process has started already. It really is all about the heads from here on.

"There is great excitement back in Galway, because we haven't had too many good hurling days over the past few seasons. But we were back training on the Tuesday night after the Kilkenny game, and we have just settled down again. Almost all the training is done at this stage, so it's more about getting ready for the Cork lads and making sure our preparation is right.

"And you're not going to do anything extra on the physical side, or even the ball-work side, over the next two weeks. It's mostly about keeping things ticking over at training, and then dealing with all the things outside of training, such as the interviews and all that. But we've kept the feet on the ground.

"We'll also look closely at the Cork team and come up with some definite plans about how to win the game.

"So it's just about getting the heads right. And that means looking beyond the whole All-Ireland spectacle and just approaching it like another game. I think that's the key to it anyway."

Cork have the obvious advantage of enduring all the All-Ireland hullabaloo over the past two years. For most of the Galway players it's a whole new experience, with memories of 2001 - and their last appearance in the final - hardly counting any more.

Yet Canning, now aged 29, is adamant this season is being approached on its own terms.

"I still don't see it as being too much different from any other year. We came through a couple of tight games and came good in the last 10 minutes against Tipperary, which is always the vital time, and then we got those few vital scores against Kilkenny. I know I've been training the same as every other year.

"The new format has definitely helped, and allowed us to improve from game to game. But last year against Kilkenny we threw in the towel for the last 10 minutes and that was very disappointing - a disaster really. So that was one of the things we definitely focused on this year, to stay going as long as we can.

"So it's not possible to put your finger on one thing this year. Maybe when we look back on the year, when we've more time to reflect on it, we'll spot something, but at this stage we're just caught up in the training and enjoying the ride, and not even stopping to think about it."

However, the memories of 1987-1988 and Galway's last hurling success have slowly been resuscitated, even for Canning.

"I actually remember 1987 more . . . We were up in Mosney and were after winning a Community Games final with Portumna. We actually beat a Toomevara team with Tommy Dunne playing. After our game we all went down to watch the game, and I still have fond memories of that. But it was a long time ago, and hopefully we'll leave a few more memories like that after this year."