Smith: We’ve proved we can win ugly

The last 50 minutes of yesterday’s game may have betrayed the intensity of the opening 20 but Andy Smith insists the game will have battle-hardened Galway going into next month’s All-Ireland final.

Held up against their historic Leinster final win over Kilkenny last month, yesterday was never going to be as frenzied. But the Portumna midfielder took plenty from the game.

“At least we have that banked now going into the All-Ireland final, that we can win ugly too,” he said.

Compared to their three wins in Leinster, Smith said it was a better challenge.

“We were always on top in the three games but at least we won ugly which is no harm at all.

“It was totally different [to the Leinster final]. We came out all guns blazing in the Leinster final. We knew well it was going to be a different game today because Cork are a young, pacy side and we knew we wouldn’t get the space upfront.

“They dropped a man back and sorted of crowded it out as well. We knew we were in for a tough shift, which it was.”

Smith reckoned Galway’s performance was down to showing Cork enough respect and ignoring just how fancied they were to reach their first All-Ireland final in seven years.

“We don’t read into that, really. We knew Cork are a young, hungry team and knew we were going to face a massive battle today.”

Smith was on the Galway panel when the county lost to Cork in that All-Ireland final back in 2005.

Of yesterday’s team, Tony Óg Regan, David Collins and Damien Hayes all started that game when the hype appeared to eat up Galway. Smith doesn’t believe what’s said and written about the team ahead of next month’s decider will affect them.

“Yeah, a few of us were there in ’05 and I think we just have to galvanise ourselves and not to be listening to the stuff that happens outside of training.

“We just have to regroup together. We’ll just have two weeks of hard training then into the short, snappy stuff again. We just have to knuckle down and not listen to that stuff because it’s irrelevant. It won’t win games.”

Smith said Anthony Cunningham and his management team are just the men to keep their players’ feet firmly planted on the ground.

“The management are doing a great job and three of them are knowledgeable men. They know what they want out of us and we know individually what our roles are.”

Even if Tipperary are just a stone’s throw from his village, Smith has no preference for who wins next Sunday.

“Not a bit — no, no. We’ll let them battle it out and see what happens. We’ll knuckle down, we’ve a lot of work to do and we’ll just worry about ourselves and let that result take care of itself.”