Shane O'Neill's Galway bid to be 'absolutely humming for Championship'

Tim O'Mahony of Cork blocks a shot on goal by Cathal Mannion of Galway during the game. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

For the second weekend in a row, Galway’s hurlers overturned a seven-point deficit to sign off on a statement League campaign in the most impressive fashion.

Only Kilkenny in the less-taxing Group B finished this truncated League with the same number of wins — four — as Shane O’Neill’s charges, the two counties to share the League title unless their paths cross in the weeks and months ahead.

However, irrespective of whether Galway finish the summer with one or both hands on the League silverware, management will be pleased with what the Group A table-toppers have mined from the past six weeks as focus now turns to matters of the Liam MacCarthy.

The sweeper system employed during last year’s Championship has been dispensed with and no worse off are Galway without it. If anything, and this will hardly come as a revelation, their forward play has improved for having a more populated half-forward line.

Evan Niland, a bit-part player last winter, has established himself as a central cog in their forward wheel, with fellow forward Brian Concannon and half-back Fintan Burke two others to assume more pronounced roles within the Galway starting team in recent weeks.

The county’s fourth league win and their successful leapfrogging of Tipperary into top spot in Group A of Division 1 had its roots in a 12-point second-half swing, during which the visitors outscored their opponents by 3-13 to 0-11.

The comeback began from a seven-point deficit, Patrick Horgan’s sixth point at the beginning of the second half extending Cork’s advantage to 2-13 to 0-12.

Galway roused themselves thereafter, with goals from Conor Whelan on 38 minutes and Conor Cooney on 52 minutes bringing the westerners level at 2-17 apiece on 52 minutes.

A Padraic Mannion point following the resumption of play after the second water break propelled Galway in front for the first time in proceedings and, while Cork temporarily regained the inside lane thanks to Darragh Fitzgibbon and Horgan (free) white flags, it was to be the last time Kieran Kingston’s side led.

As more and more Cork restarts were being swallowed whole by white shirts, and Cork’s defensive struggles worsening with each passing minute, Galway delivered the knockout blow when outscoring the Rebels 1-5 to 0-1 between the 61st and 66th minute.

Factor in the 1-3 Galway squandered in the minutes before this burst and the extent to which Cork wilted is apparent.

It was to Cathal Mannion these two goal chances fell. The first was well blocked by a red shirt, the second batted to the net to cap an outstanding showing from the midfielder.

Post-mortems on why Cork fell away should not begin and end with defence, as possession sent into the opposition half of the field came back out far too quickly and easily during the final quarter.

“It is great to prepare for Championship on the back of a victory,” said Galway manager Shane O’Neill. “A 12-point turnaround is great. Obviously, we don’t want to have to make those turnarounds regularly, but it was a good reaction. At half-time, we were happy enough. Statistically, we were very much in the game. We were just obviously the two goals down.

“In the second half, the lads figured it out very well. We were much tighter at the back and much more ruthless up front. The lads left absolutely everything on the pitch.

“Over the next three weeks, we’ll try and keep them fresh, but also incremental improvements so that we are absolutely humming for Championship.”

The home side had led 2-12 to 0-12 at the break, the green flags arriving at either end of the half. Their opener manifested itself inside two minutes, a Patrick Horgan handpass to Conor Cahalane took four Galway defenders out of the equation and, in the process, put Cahalane in the clear.

Cork’s second was a far more fortuitous effort, an Eanna Murphy short puckout on 33 minutes not collected by Gearóid McInerney.

The mistake was punished by Jack O’Connor who sent the sliotar whistling past Murphy.

Cork’s inability to safeguard this lead with an authoritative and controlled second-half showing ensures there’s plenty to be getting on with ahead of Limerick in the Championship early next month.