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Galway Hurling thread

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Replying To galway19:  "Some wayward shooting cost us the win in the minor game in Parnell Park. Got the draw in the end but we were probably just about the better side over the 60 minutes. Lohan and Leen probably our two best on the day. Looks like MacCarthaigh is probably out of the semi final with an injury and with that we are probably outsiders against a strong Wexford team in the semi final."
Hardly outsiders. Its going to be 40 odd 15-17 year olds playing in the game. Hard to say who will rise to it, and who will shrink from it.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19510 - 05/05/2026 13:04:25    2671096

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Replying To galway19:  "Draw done for the u20 semi finals - Galway vs Wexford and Kilkenny vs Dublin. Game is on Wednesday next week, presumably in Portlaoise. Hopefully they can leave Niland and Rabbitte out of the senior game against Kildare on Saturday to give them a break before the u20 game."
I'm expecting Wexford to give us plenty of it here.

On day 1 the gap on the final scoreboard was far bigger than the gap between the teams on the grass. Wexford have since drawn with Kilkenny (4 down with 2 mins left and goaled twice) and walloped both Kildare and Laois, and while neither of the latter two are up to much at this level, hammering them can only be good for confidence. You'd imagine Wexford will be better prepared for Niland the next day also and we can't rely on their shooting being so rotten either.

Perhaps my expectations are too high but I've been somewhat underwhelmed by what I have seen from the U20's this year so far, Niland was essentially the difference on day 1, Kildare was meh and we were fortunate enough to beat a very understrength KK side (TBF we didn't have Niland and Rabbitte came on after HT and he did make an impact)

But a repeat of the first 25 minutes of the KK game wouldn't be a good look and it would mean we wouldn't be in much danger of winning anything. Let's hope we improve on the grass and on the line. We need to.

Stool Pigeon (Galway) - Posts: 1014 - 05/05/2026 18:02:19    2671189

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Replying To Stool Pigeon:  "I'm expecting Wexford to give us plenty of it here.

On day 1 the gap on the final scoreboard was far bigger than the gap between the teams on the grass. Wexford have since drawn with Kilkenny (4 down with 2 mins left and goaled twice) and walloped both Kildare and Laois, and while neither of the latter two are up to much at this level, hammering them can only be good for confidence. You'd imagine Wexford will be better prepared for Niland the next day also and we can't rely on their shooting being so rotten either.

Perhaps my expectations are too high but I've been somewhat underwhelmed by what I have seen from the U20's this year so far, Niland was essentially the difference on day 1, Kildare was meh and we were fortunate enough to beat a very understrength KK side (TBF we didn't have Niland and Rabbitte came on after HT and he did make an impact)

But a repeat of the first 25 minutes of the KK game wouldn't be a good look and it would mean we wouldn't be in much danger of winning anything. Let's hope we improve on the grass and on the line. We need to."
They probably will give us plenty of it but I'd be very disappointed if we aren't winning this one with a bit to spare. Rabbitte was definitely carrying an injury in that first game and the big difference is having Cullen Killeen now available at midfield. He really drove things on against Kilkenny when some of the others weren't hurling well and he is a class player - man of the match in the county final and the all ireland club semi final this year. I wouldn't mind seeing Rabbitte and Niland both play on the inside line for a portion of the game, just to stop a sweeper focusing solely on Niland.

galway19 (Galway) - Posts: 1099 - 06/05/2026 09:36:42    2671235

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Good to see Niland and Rabbitte left out of the game tomorrow to be rested for Wednesday evening. Gives a chance to Conor Cooney and Colm Molloy who have looked good off the bench in first two games. Josh Ryan straight back into the team at corner back after his injury. Should be a comfortable win and hopefully pick up no injuries.

galway19 (Galway) - Posts: 1099 - 08/05/2026 09:32:32    2671549

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I think the city/west hurlers are often not given the same treatment. They are often overlooked which is fair enough in some regard as the tradition is not predominantly hurling here which I understand and the majority of success is east/south. An example of a player who is hard done by is Ed o Reilly from mellows. A brilliant hurler, he's getting a look in with the 20s this year but he's worth a place in that senior team 100%. Id love to see a bit of fairness brought into it at some stage. But will we ever hit that stage I don't know…..,

Galwayman67420 (Galway) - Posts: 45 - 08/05/2026 12:43:36    2671607

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Best performance of the year so far for the minors in a surprisingly one sided semi final against Wexford. Forward line flowed really well considering they were without Tadhg MacCarthaigh who would probably be the pick of the forwards in the squad. Poinard and Coen really good along with Larkin up front. Gus Lohan very strong in midfield. Hopefully they keep improving and it all bodes well for next year considering a good few of them are minor again in 2027.

galway19 (Galway) - Posts: 1099 - 09/05/2026 13:30:10    2671774

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First half in Newbridge was by far our worst of the year, very complacent stuff. Subs made a bit of a difference in the second half and in fairness to the lads they did up the energy. Second half was 3-17 to 0-04 I think. A win next week at home to Dublin will make our last game against Wexford a dead rubber.

galway19 (Galway) - Posts: 1099 - 09/05/2026 17:36:25    2671817

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Replying To galway19:  "The Kilkenny back line isn't suddenly going to gain pace in Croke Park. They are grand in Nowlan Park where they can keep things tight but the likes of Deegan, Carey, Blanchfield and Corcoran are all very slow on the turn. We might not beat them by 18 or 15 in a Leinster final but our forwards will have no problem putting up a massive score against them again. I'd be more worried about playing Dublin on the off chance that their hurling actually matches their speed around the field and they would be dangerous in that scenario."
As I said a few weeks ago, that Kilkenny team is woeful, especially in the back line. Dublin are a far bigger threat to us winning Leinster this year.

galway19 (Galway) - Posts: 1099 - 10/05/2026 16:40:46    2672018

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Still expecting Galway v Kilkenny Leinster Final with Offaly to finish 3rd.
Offaly should beat Wexford and Kildare.
Dublin will lose to Galway and Kilkenny.

katser (Galway) - Posts: 2823 - 10/05/2026 19:43:57    2672089

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Replying To katser:  "Still expecting Galway v Kilkenny Leinster Final with Offaly to finish 3rd.
Offaly should beat Wexford and Kildare.
Dublin will lose to Galway and Kilkenny."
Would be nice to see Dublin out, would quite them down as a few of their supporters online are piping up with the saying 'they're the best team in Leinster'

ColmFlaherty (Galway) - Posts: 34 - 10/05/2026 20:32:34    2672106

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Quite an enjoyable game to watch in Kildare on Saturday at the end. Glad I made the trip up.

Fair play to Kildare. Some great hurlers there and they had a timid Galway backline under all type of bother in the first half. Some of their shooting was exceptional where Galway struggled.

Whelan excellent and looks back to his best, kept them in the game when it had a danger of getting away from them. I think in general this game will do them more good than if they beat them by 20/30 points. Stuck to their guns and got the rewards in the end. Under previous management this might have been a loss.

Unfortunately I would say that is the last Conor Cooney start in a Galway jersey.

Amazing that Galway are really starting to click even with all the wides and some of their main men (Both Mannions, Morrissey etc.) yet to have really found their best form in the championship. That's a positive

Kinvara (Galway) - Posts: 209 - 11/05/2026 14:05:47    2672340

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I was delighted to see a decent Galway crowd there, but actually a bit disappointed from a hurling point of view with the Kildare contingent. looks like hurling has a long way top go in kildare off the pitch moreso than on it.

Don't knwo can we take much from the game other than maybe it's a valuable lesson to some of the newer lads that you have to be on it every day.

Daithi, Whelan and Killeen were the only players I'd give some credit to in the first half. Everyone else was not at the pitch of the game at all. Is there a dilema now with Glennon? Hard to leave him out but does he replace Morrissy or ryan?

We need fleming to get up to speed badly, he tried hard but still a little off, and I think we need him to make an impact from the start as Monahan, neary and cooney are all better coming on. Lohan is probably at the back of that group as well but he's been making an impact with his chances, I'd be tempted to give him a start in Wexford if we can get a result against the Dubs

Overdahill (Galway) - Posts: 116 - 11/05/2026 16:09:07    2672391

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