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Galway Hurling thread

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Replying To 2maroonjerseys:  "MD showed up with the same system that had us trailing both Wexford and Kildare by double figures until he made changes and got the win. Did he think the same system would overcome limerick the best team in Ireland for the last 8 yrs. He'd no plan B or even try a different format to start to confuse limerick. Clare have pushed limerick to the limit for the last 6/7 yrs and yet he mustn't have watch any tape of how they confuse and drive limerick to their limit. I wonder was there any Galway men involved with Clare he could have asked for any tactical tips on how to play them? Having one in 17 they hard questions won't be asked for now.
That's my tuppence worth after enduring another final loss in croke park."
One thing both Galway managers in hurling and football have in common they way 2 predictable they never do anything different from game to game to make opponents think no imagination. At all there is more short hand passes in hurling now than football in this year's hurling championship bar Limerick every other team in the mccarthy cup lost a championship game by 10 points or more ,, Limerick have won more all Ireland in last 10 years than Galway have in there history just think about that and next year people will still have Galway in there predictions ,,

Kickitout (Galway) - Posts: 1165 - 20/07/2026 16:56:36    2686397

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Replying To 2maroonjerseys:  "Limerick are miles ahead physically at the moment it's the tactical decisions made on the sideline that baffles. He went into an all Ireland welded to his system he didn't try and pull a magic trick to try and confuse limerick's players. Ye had the physical battle won and once ye got to grips with the Galway play twas all over after 20 mins ye had a lot of wides fahy made a few great saves and Lyons was helpful to say the least ye should have been 10 points up at half time. The younger players on the squad now know the levels needed to win an all Ireland it'll stand to them. Tactically MD needs to evolve to at least move forward. Clare have caused ye the most problems over the years, obviously he must think he knows more than lohan.
Limerick dominated and swarmed all over the pitch yesterday fair play to ye. Ye have a great team and players and ye deserve every success."
What could he do?

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 747 - 20/07/2026 17:58:00    2686411

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Replying To 2maroonjerseys:  "Limerick are miles ahead physically at the moment it's the tactical decisions made on the sideline that baffles. He went into an all Ireland welded to his system he didn't try and pull a magic trick to try and confuse limerick's players. Ye had the physical battle won and once ye got to grips with the Galway play twas all over after 20 mins ye had a lot of wides fahy made a few great saves and Lyons was helpful to say the least ye should have been 10 points up at half time. The younger players on the squad now know the levels needed to win an all Ireland it'll stand to them. Tactically MD needs to evolve to at least move forward. Clare have caused ye the most problems over the years, obviously he must think he knows more than lohan.
Limerick dominated and swarmed all over the pitch yesterday fair play to ye. Ye have a great team and players and ye deserve every success."
What could he do?
On Clare, there is a huge rivalry there between us and they have some great players but we have won most if not all of the head to heads that mattered to date. They got huge help from the ref in the first half of semi finsl and grew from that
If lions waa reffing they wouldnt have finished the half with 15 and limerick would have been 5 or 6 up at the break from frees alone. We got tto grips with the refereeing and they went 11 minutes at the start of the 2nd half and 20 at the end without scoring. Yes we got a bit of luck on the penalty but we dominated the 2nd half similar to yesterday. It was the same in Ennis in RR and we only had 14 for last 20 that day. What should Lohan have done different?

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 747 - 20/07/2026 18:05:06    2686413

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Replying To sligo joe:  "Surely Limerick were not class on the day, yes they are a class team but won easy today with an average performance"
If you think that was a average limerick performance you know absolutely nothing about the game of hurling. Too many newbies watching hurling nowadays and dont understand half of it. And im not making excuses for ourselves. We werent allowed to hurl. Can you name one limerick hurler who had a bad game yesterday for a so called average performance ? 5 different players could of gotten motm. As far as i could see everyone of them hurled brilliantly, not one of them beaten in their battle. Their delivery into their forwards, shooting, link up play, movement off the ball was absolutely immaculate as a galway man at the match, As frustrated as i was watching it infront of me i had to stand back and admire them. Put all the above into play and add in their ferocious work rate and will to win every single ball. Their hunger was unmatched. So dont come onto this forum and kick the galway hurlers while they are down calling it an average limerick performance. A bit of class please.

Galway456 (Galway) - Posts: 162 - 20/07/2026 18:20:41    2686414

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Some of the things I'm seeing/reading online etc would make me question if some of our supporters are true supporters/turning their backs or starting to turn on us.

ColmFlaherty (Galway) - Posts: 177 - 20/07/2026 18:54:44    2686416

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Replying To Tiger1:  "Got that one wrong Katser unfortunely old Galway habit of not turning up came back once again i really hoped ye would win it but went out without any great fight."
We weren't allowed hurl. I think thats more the reason we were bet as to not showing up. Limerick didnt give us an inch. Very easy go back to the old galway not showing up and maybe to an extent we didnt but from someone who had a good view up there in croke park, limerick dominated every area and battle. Well deserved victors.

Galway456 (Galway) - Posts: 162 - 20/07/2026 23:33:22    2686438

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "What could he do?"
Frank Cummins of Kilkenny to me is still the best midfielder that I have ever seen play hurling!

Galway would have needed 5-6 present-day Frank Cummins in his prime in the middle third to arrest that Limerick onslaught yesterday. That is how intense and directed it was.

It's very easy to point blame or say that they should have done this or that. It's a very different issue to being able to do this or that.

I think that Galway have the players to be back again next year but they'll need new plans.

Rabbitte at center forward perhaps and Cathal Mannion if he's up to it at full-forward. Whelan as an impact sub-not able for 70 minutes anymore. Just a few suggestions!

foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2613 - 21/07/2026 03:20:36    2686443

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I definitely wouldn't be too down were I a Galway fan.

After watching the game back a couple of times, yes we dominated, but after 31 minutes Galway were 0-10 to 0-8 down and still well in the game. Our hurlers are masters at closing out the first half with more scores than the opposition. Galway will learn from that.

Niland and Rabbitte are two genuine forwards who will improve and with some physical development will be a threat to any team. Unfortunately, the Galway players took the ball into the tackle against us and were turned over. Again, a potential learning point for Galway, move the ball faster and dictate when they want to tackle.

There was no collapse conceding goals, like the 2021 final, so again another positive for Galway. Trayers looks like a fine player.

When Glennon was sent off, a lot of wind went out of the sails. Harsh enough red card I thought & as we saw in our first championship game v Cork, playing a quarter of the game a man down is daunting.

Having also watched James Skehill on the hurling pod, he too sees the positives ahead. I think this Galway team has far more potential to develop into a powerhouse over the next 2-3 seasons in comparison to most other MacCarthy cup teams. Micheal Donoghue is a fine manager. Limerick were just better on Sunday but if MD Stays in place, handles retirements and bringing in more youth, there is a real chance that this Galway team can win 2-3 all Ireland titles.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6633 - 21/07/2026 09:08:17    2686449

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Replying To BigBàsMan:  "Donoghue needs some scrutiny here lads. No plan B. No shrewd subs at HT when hegarty and lynch were cleaning up. More of the same from 2018 instead of Johnny Glynn it's jason rabbitte. One of the worst all Irelands I've ever seen it was completely one sided affair. That red card should've never happened, he should've been whipped off at HT."
MD was like a Fox caught in the headlights on Sunday. We were totally hammered in the middle third and persisted with trying to run the ball thorough the lines. When the odd time we decided to let the ball in it was slow and cut out.
Both wing backs, midfield and the half forward line were eaten up and Whelan was out of it.
Are our so call big names beyond been taken off? On the other hand John Kiely had no problem taking his big names during the year and look at the result. Everyone will need to look in the mirror if we progress from here which has now become a bigger task.

Watchthepost (Dublin) - Posts: 11 - 21/07/2026 09:57:36    2686452

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Replying To Galway456:  "We weren't allowed hurl. I think thats more the reason we were bet as to not showing up. Limerick didnt give us an inch. Very easy go back to the old galway not showing up and maybe to an extent we didnt but from someone who had a good view up there in croke park, limerick dominated every area and battle. Well deserved victors."
Thats a fair assessment to a point, but it is also true that some of your better/marquee players didnt hurl as well as they can hurl, as in basic stuff like pickups, striking, speed of decision making. Yes Limerick worked really hard, but its easier to close down an opponent when he doesn't get the ball up first time on several different occasions.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20310 - 21/07/2026 10:20:01    2686455

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I'm surprised with the amount of criticism I've seen of Galway from their own supporters..if any Galway person can honestly say they expected to be in all Ireland in 2026 they are lying..Michael donohue will learn more from that defeat than from any victory.
Ye have 5/6 players who in the next couple of years will be the new leaders..there is an all Ireland win going to come,it might be another 2 years but it will arrive.
We have had horrible days in croke park but the last few years have been unbelieveable and have made the days unforgettable for us.can I say aswell great to see the huge numbers welcoming the team back,this will help the players to..another county could take a leaf out of yere book and face supporters on the bad days aswell as the successful ones..

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2712 - 21/07/2026 11:50:47    2686470

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Replying To slayer:  "I definitely wouldn't be too down were I a Galway fan.

After watching the game back a couple of times, yes we dominated, but after 31 minutes Galway were 0-10 to 0-8 down and still well in the game. Our hurlers are masters at closing out the first half with more scores than the opposition. Galway will learn from that.

Niland and Rabbitte are two genuine forwards who will improve and with some physical development will be a threat to any team. Unfortunately, the Galway players took the ball into the tackle against us and were turned over. Again, a potential learning point for Galway, move the ball faster and dictate when they want to tackle.

There was no collapse conceding goals, like the 2021 final, so again another positive for Galway. Trayers looks like a fine player.

When Glennon was sent off, a lot of wind went out of the sails. Harsh enough red card I thought & as we saw in our first championship game v Cork, playing a quarter of the game a man down is daunting.

Having also watched James Skehill on the hurling pod, he too sees the positives ahead. I think this Galway team has far more potential to develop into a powerhouse over the next 2-3 seasons in comparison to most other MacCarthy cup teams. Micheal Donoghue is a fine manager. Limerick were just better on Sunday but if MD Stays in place, handles retirements and bringing in more youth, there is a real chance that this Galway team can win 2-3 all Ireland titles."
Match was over at half time, Glennon's sending off had zero impact, Limerick just cruised home, wind was worth 5 points and Galway trailed by five.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2709 - 21/07/2026 12:17:00    2686473

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "What could he do?"
Well for starters leaving Jason Rabbitte isolated against the Limerick full backline was a disaster. You can't leave a team with the quality of limericks backs licence to roam with no one marking them. Dereck Mcgarth got Waterford to the 17 final with the vaunted sweeper system after that final twas dead in the water. MD can forget about this system next yr limerick had us sliced and diced after twenty minutes. It was only a matter of how much Limerick would win by after that.

2maroonjerseys (Galway) - Posts: 172 - 21/07/2026 17:58:39    2686518

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Replying To 2maroonjerseys:  "Well for starters leaving Jason Rabbitte isolated against the Limerick full backline was a disaster. You can't leave a team with the quality of limericks backs licence to roam with no one marking them. Dereck Mcgarth got Waterford to the 17 final with the vaunted sweeper system after that final twas dead in the water. MD can forget about this system next yr limerick had us sliced and diced after twenty minutes. It was only a matter of how much Limerick would win by after that."
You got over run in the middle 3rd despite having extra men there. How would you have got on with 2 men less there?

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20310 - 21/07/2026 21:36:40    2686544

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How does the management team look at that play out and make a first sub on 50 minutes? No plan B whatsoever, cian lynch could have been given MOTM at HT. No long puckout option, repeating the same short puckout routine over and over and getting turned over. Why is cyril donnellan the goalie coach again this year? he was an outfield player. The game was over but Tom Mon clips his second point and immediately subbed which will impact his all star chances, that was strange. It isn't fair on galway players or supporters to go out with those tactics, make zero changes and then talk about the 3 or 4 more young lads that are ready to make the step up next year, self preservation!

pucfada (Galway) - Posts: 105 - 22/07/2026 00:42:12    2686555

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Goes back to my original post 'Are our so called big names beyond being subbed?' We left old players on fast Limerick players who ran away with the MOM award. He was like a Grandad following him but obviously still played the 75 minutes. Monaghan was subbed who just scored but he was again the easy option.

Watchthepost (Dublin) - Posts: 11 - 22/07/2026 10:24:54    2686566

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Replying To Viking66:  "You got over run in the middle 3rd despite having extra men there. How would you have got on with 2 men less there?"
Because 4 and sometimes 5 limerick backs had no one to keep them pinned down. Limerick could do what they wanted as they knew the had extra men to pick up any missed tackles. They were ruthless in exposing the advantage they had knowing they'd extra men unmarked.

2maroonjerseys (Galway) - Posts: 172 - 22/07/2026 10:24:56    2686567

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Replying To Viking66:  "You got over run in the middle 3rd despite having extra men there. How would you have got on with 2 men less there?"
Because 4 and sometimes 5 limerick backs had no one to keep them pinned down. Limerick could do what they wanted as they knew the had extra men to pick up any missed tackles. They were ruthless in exposing the advantage they had knowing they'd extra men unmarked.

2maroonjerseys (Galway) - Posts: 172 - 22/07/2026 10:44:45    2686571

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for all the s and c talk that has suppose to have went on over the last 10 years, it was men versus kids Sunday

CillTormoir (Galway) - Posts: 616 - 22/07/2026 11:40:13    2686579

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Replying To 2maroonjerseys:  "Because 4 and sometimes 5 limerick backs had no one to keep them pinned down. Limerick could do what they wanted as they knew the had extra men to pick up any missed tackles. They were ruthless in exposing the advantage they had knowing they'd extra men unmarked."
Surely Galway had men unmarked also though?

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20310 - 22/07/2026 14:47:37    2686614

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