Cork game ‘will stand’ to Galway

GALWAY recognise the ‘huge test’ they face in taking on Tipperary in next weekend’s Allianz NHL final but will be better prepared than they were for their semi-final tilt with Cork on Sunday.

Apart altogether from the boost which Joe Canning’s availability has given the squad, selector and former star Sean Treacy has no doubt that the game will stand to them. Most of all he says the management are delighted to see their players involved in competitive action for a further week, given that they they’ll have to wait until June before sampling their first championship action.

“When you haven’t had a game for a while, you’re kind of raw and that’s the way we felt. We were worried we wouldn’t have the intensity that Cork had. We were probably fresher in the first half but once Cork got their legs they came back at us,’’ Treacy commented.

“It was a superb game of hurling. We knew at half-time, even though we were a good few points up, that Cork were going to come back. It was a very strong breeze, but we also knew the calibre of the Cork team and what they have done before. We were expecting a huge onslaught and that’s what came. It was just fortunate that they probably ran out of time — that we had just enough scores got to win the game.

“I think that match practice for Cork really stood to them. We had no game for three weeks and no matter what you do in training, it’s still not the same what you do in matches. Cork played Waterford and Limerick since we played a game and that did stand to them. And of course, they have been around a long time and they’re a fairly experienced team. You could see it in the way they played the ball around in the forwards in the second half. They were outstanding.”

Meanwhile, he agrees that the addition of Joe Canning to the attack adds a new dimension to their attacking potential. At the same time he cautioned against people expecting too much from him too soon. “He’s only a young fellow, he has to be given time,’’ he commented. “But we were really satisfied with him. He was always on a hiding to nothing in his first game, but he contributed greatly to the game. It was another step-up to what he has been playing before. He’s absolutely delighted to get that first game under his belt. The line ball he put over, you wouldn’t see a golf shot as good as it.

“We were probably lacking in fellows with physical size and Joe is a very strong big man. He is over six foot tall and you can hit the ball into him without having it perfect. He’ll take on any kind of ball and his skill levels are phenomenal.”