Pádraic Joyce sets out his stall: 'I said it from day one, it is about winning the All-Ireland'

WINNING EMBRACE: Galway manager Padraic Joyce and Damien Comer celebrate after their victory over Derry at Croke Park 

Galway’s first set of back-to-back championship wins at Croke Park in 21 years should bring an end to the narrative that there is a “soft underbelly” to this Galway side, manager Pádraic Joyce has said.

Not since Joyce himself was leading the line during the maroon summer of 2001 have the county won consecutive championship games at GAA HQ, his charges today successful in unscrambling the latest northern puzzle put in front of them at Croke Park.

“There'd be a soft belly seen in Galway, that until we actually go and win these big games in Croke Park that tag is going to follow you around,” Joyce began.

“So, after winning the Armagh game and the way we won it, being six up, letting them back into it, and the row, in times gone by we might have folded a bit, but we took a lot of solace from that result.

“We have to become a team that performs in Croke Park day in day out, and I think we have done that to a degree this year.” What most pleased Joyce about their latest Croke Park victory was that, unlike the shootout against Armagh, Galway had to display different qualities on this occasion.

Patience and perseverance were called for and shown, panache put firmly in the backseat in the face of Derry’s suffocating style.

“There is a sign in the dressing-room going out the door saying, to find a way. You have to find a way - whatever goes on.

“You are not always going to win a game by kicking 2-19 or 2-20. The most pleasing part is the lads did find a way.

“They eked it out, they put the shoulder to the wheel, worked really, really hard. They took the hits, they gave the hits, They completely snuffed Derry out.” Despite finding themselves 0-3 to 0-0 down 20 minutes into the first half, Joyce said he was not concerned as his team were still in the game despite not playing well.

Level at 0-4 apiece at the beginning of the second half, he pointed to Damien Comer’s first goal on 45 minutes as the semi-final’s turning point.

“It was a great ball in by John Daly. Damien turned and stuck it really, really well. From then on, we were five or six points up with a cushion, it was easier to manage the game. The lads managed the game really well.

“They had been criticised for not managing the last couple of games out right, but today they did.

“Semi-finals are for winning, it mightn't be pretty at times. We have won it and we have a final to look forward to in two weeks' time. We are going to enjoy tonight, we are going to enjoy the build-up for the next two weeks, and we are going to give one helluva performance here in two weeks' time.

“People might say we’ve had the easier side of the draw, all this kind of stuff, but look, we are there on merit. The lads are putting in a tremendous effort and let's hope we can get ourselves sorted for two weeks’ time and really go at it.

“I said it from day one when I got the job, it is about winning the All-Ireland. It has taken us three years to get here. We're here now so we are definitely going to make the most of it.” 

On the Hawk Eye decision not to award a converted Shane Walsh '45 in first half stoppages, a score subsequently given at the beginning of the second period, Joyce commented: "At the time the kick was taken, I thought it was over the bar. I couldn't believe it. They came in and rectified it. Technology is human too, maybe."

He expressed confidence that glitches with the score detection technology, which will not be in use for tomorrow's Kerry-Dublin semi-final, will be rectified ahead of the July 24 All-Ireland final.