Galway clash akin to Ulster showdown, says Colin Walshe

By Paul Keane

Monaghan captain Colin Walshe reckons their Super 8s encounter with Galway is going to feel like a typical Ulster championship showdown.

Monaghan need to win in Salthill to be sure of qualifying for the All-Ireland semi-finals, while Galway are chasing a victory to claim top spot and avoid Dublin in the last four.

The Tribesmen have profited this year from a counter-attacking strategy, with commentators also noting their new hardened exterior.

Experienced defender and former All Star Walshe agreed the westerners play like an Ulster side, defending deep and breaking forward at lightning pace when they seize possession.

Yeah, they have that blend about them. They’re strong at the back and strong and physical generally, but they’ve definitely got that bit of class and pace and quality up front too, between Shane Walsh and (Damien) Comer and (Eamon) Brannigan. They have some top players.

“We’ve played against them before and they’ve got a nice blend of football about them. They’re getting results. It’s something that we’ve faced before in the Ulster arena, where we’ve come up against that style. It’ll be different to the Kerry game where they pressed us high all over the field and didn’t let us settle at all from the back.

A late David Clifford goal for Kerry sneaked a draw for them against Monaghan in Phase 2 and turned the entire group on its head. Now, instead of a dead rubber encounter at Pearse Stadium on Saturday, Monaghan must win to be sure of making the semi-finals for the first time in 30 years.

As for Galway, they could field a weakened team with their semi-final place already secured or, alternatively, they may badly want to win to secure top spot and avoid Dublin a week later.

“It is probably tough in Galway’s regard, because the semi-final does come quickly afterward for them, whereas we know that this is our last [guaranteed] game of the year; as far as we’re concerned we’re going into it with that frame of mind,” said Walshe. “It’s different when you’re in their position, that you’re guaranteed a semi-final. At this stage of the competition, they’re all the top teams in the country anyway, so who you might play in the semi-final, as far as we’re concerned, we don’t really care. We just want to be in a semi-final, so we’ll be going down to play Galway and giving it everything. We’ll be going down in the frame of mind that we’re facing a Galway side that, with the form they’re in, they’ve only lost one game this year, a league final against Dublin, that they’re one of the best teams around. That’s the way we’ve played the last five or six weeks, in fairness. The percentage of preparation that you’re giving to the opposition is slim compared to worrying about our own performance.

The games have been coming thick and fast, so we’ll just be worrying again about trying to give a performance that’s up to the level of the Kerry match, if not better.

Monaghan made the trek to Galway in March, losing a round-five league game at Pearse Stadium by 0-17 to 1-10.

“We missed out on making a league final over that game in Salthill,” said Walshe. “They were tough, well organised, great on the break. They have top forwards. They’ve shown that all year.”

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