Gary Brennan: Joyce demands high standards but can Galway get the mix right?
Out of the gate: Galway players and manager Padraic Joyce, right, need to find a balance between intensity and intelligence on Sunday. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
I was fortunate enough to be part of the last International Rules Series played in 2017, and one incident from our preparation for that series sprung to mind this week.
The routine was usually to meet on Friday night and play a full trial game, followed by a skills session the following morning. At the end of one such session, Pádraic Joyce had us practising shooting – taking a mark, stepping back, and slotting a score over a defender standing on the mark.
Initially, the mood was fairly relaxed, but it didn’t stay that way for long. As some efforts started to veer left and right, Pádraic pulled all in and left us in no doubt as to what he thought of the standard. I’ve no idea what the overall percentages were like but anything less than 100 was an insult to Joyce.
Others might have made excuses and put it down to fatigue from the weekend’s work, but according to Joyce, if we couldn’t kick the ball over the bar in that setting, we had no business being there. And he was dead right by the way. This unwillingness to accept anything less than the required standard was evident in the ambition he set out for Galway when appointed manager in late 2019, that being to compete for All-Ireland honours once again. Obviously, they haven’t been helped by the knockout format, but they have been halted by Mayo at Connacht final stage in each of the past two campaigns.
Joyce, more than anyone, will be keen to avoid three in a row.
And so, the stakes are high for Sunday’s quarter-final clash on the new surface at McHale Park. Only once during Kevin Walsh’s term as manager did Galway fail to reach the Connacht Final: 2015 when Mayo beat them in the semi-final. Meanwhile 2013, when Alan Mulholland was manager, was the last time they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage (also by Mayo).
To be fair, of the four quarter finals they played in the interim, three were against London and New York, but the fourth (2018) was against Mayo and that victory marked the beginning of a campaign that brought them all the way to the All-Ireland semi-final.
What are the chances this year?
The evidence from Galway’s league campaign is inconclusive. On the one hand, they achieved the aim of promotion with a game to spare, looked outstanding in attack at times, finished top scorers in the division, held Meath scoreless for 45 minutes in round 1 (albeit with a gale), blew Derry away in the game that mattered most and were only beaten by Roscommon in round 7 when already promoted.
But on the other hand, their concession rate was only fourth lowest, they suffered lapses during games against Cork and Offaly which allowed the opposition a sniff and ultimately allowed Roscommon to walk away with the league title. I don’t think that final element will bother them greatly if they end up going on to bigger things in the summer, especially if it is Roscommon they meet in a potential Connacht final, but questions remain, nonetheless.
Firstly, their tackling and discipline. In the first half of the league final alone, 0-5 of Roscommon’s 0-9 came from frees. There is a fine balance between getting sufficient intensity in the tackle and giving away unnecessary frees. Their work-rate to get bodies into the D and make tackles was good and the turnovers they forced led to 0-4 for themselves at the other end in that first half, but at times when they had extra numbers, a hand left in too long or a cheap shove undid their good work.
The flip side of this is that Diarmuid Murtagh managed to wriggle his way through for the decisive goal without one of the Galway defenders stopping him. They didn’t want to foul of course, because the game was level, but it remains to be seen whether they can they get sufficient intensity in their tackling while staying on the right side of the referee, at least most of the time.
This is an area that I’ve found can be improved hugely over the course of a season if players are willing, with good practice and improved communication to use the additional numbers, but I sometimes wonder if defending in numbers is in the Galway DNA. I think we might see more teams pushing up the pitch this year and trusting their defenders instead of automatically dropping off in defence. I think Galway people would love to see this. Of course, in the modern game that is very difficult to achieve for 70 minutes, but Tyrone gave a good blueprint in last year’s All-Ireland final of how to do so strategically. Athletically, I think Galway would have the potential to do likewise.
Another area of concern will be their own kickout. In the League final, they retained just 50% of their own kickouts in the first half. When they went medium to long range, they tended to favour the right side but lost one clean and three breaks out of seven. Two shorter kickouts went left but one was intercepted, and the other didn’t cross the 20m line. The issues continued during the second half up to and beyond the time when Conor Flaherty was replaced injured.
On 66 minutes with the teams tied at 0-18 each, they were again beaten to a crucial break from a long kickout which allowed Roscommon nudge ahead. As I’ve written about previously, 100% kickout retention isn’t essential, but ensuring you react or are set up so as not to concede from your own kickout probably is. If any team prides themselves on their ability to press, it is probably Mayo. I suspect this will have been even more of a focus for them since their league final defeat to Kerry considering they fell well below their own standards on that element on that day. Galway’s ability to retain possession or at least not concede from their own kickout will be decisive.
There is no doubt that Galway’s main strengths are at the other end of the pitch. They have been very effective this year on opposition kickouts. I saw them pick off a short kickout from Clare in the league which ended in the net. It was the main platform for their key victory over Derry and was evident again against Roscommon in that league final. From the three they stole in the first half, they scored 0-2. When down 0-17 to 0-13 in the second half, 0-3 of the next 0-4 which brought them level were form opposition kickouts.
And of course, they have some of the most exciting forwards in the game. Damien Comer, Rob Finnerty and Dessie Conneely have been well assisted this year in the scoring stakes by Matthew Tierney and especially Paul Conroy in midfield. The latter can expect plenty of close attention after his outstanding display last time out. I will be very surprised if he gets the same space to shoot that was afforded to him in that game, but he has the potential to influence the game in other ways. Shane Walsh is one of those players who can make you sit up and take notice, get you excited about football, and that is why I’d love to see Galway playing most of the game in the attacking half.
I’m not naïve enough to think they will go all out in the traditional format and withdrawing to some extent will help create space for those forwards, but I’d love to see them go at this game with a real attacking mindset. Whatever approach they take, I’ve no doubt about the standards that Pádraic Joyce will be demanding. Whether they can reach his desired levels or not, we will only learn in time.
