Galway and Waterford eagerly grasp their second chance

All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals day and with it more tales of redemption than your average revivalist meeting: Sunday’s trip to Tipp saw both of the defeated provincial finalists resurgent and by the end of the afternoon, the GAA was getting ready to stage a re-run of last year’s semi-finals at Croke Park in August.

It was an interesting recovery by both Waterford and Galway, neither of whom had come out of their defeats by Tipperary and Kilkenny with generous applause for valiant efforts ringing in their ears but they responded to end the championships of Wexford and league winners Clare, respectively.

For a county that wasn’t always wild about Thurles, Galway have now completed two successive quarter-final wins in Semple Stadium.

They emerged from these quarter-finals definitely the perkier. After a difficult year, which has seen frequent engagement with Kilkenny – hurling’s equivalent of the memento mori – and a revolt against last year’s manager, getting back to the last four in the championship sometimes looked like a forlorn hope but they hurled like men on a mission – which perhaps they are.

A certain amount of revisionism about the Leinster final defeat had kicked in enny?

Manager Micheál Donoghue was delighted with the response.

“Very satisfying,” he said, “but from start to finish it was very workmanlike from our boys, I’m delighted with the way they performed.”

Against Clare however they got performances out of players who had been subdued at the start of the month. Captain David Burke ranged around the middle keeping things ticking over while his namesake Daithi dominated the obvious approaches to the Galway goal and with the assistance of Aidan Harte and late call-up Adrian Tuohy, placed forbidding barriers in front of opponents who have not been exactly prolific of late.

Joe Canning – so often the lightning conductor for disappointment in the county – had a terrific match.

His dead-ball striking was excellent, work-rate top-class and by the end of the match, as Clare scavenged for the goal that might sustain a comeback there he was playing in front of his own square.

And his goal within seconds of the second half resumption, with Galway already leading by seven, sounded the end for Clare with all the finality of a judge’s gavel.

“It was huge,” said Donoghue about the goal – a thunderous strike – “we didn’t realise how strong the breeze was until we got to the ground. I suppose we were fortunate to get it in the first half, to build up the lead, and that goal then gave us the cushion that we needed. It was inevitable that a Clare onslaught would come, but once we chipped in with a few scores I felt we’d be okay.

“In fairness to Joe it was a great finish, the angle he took the ball and where he shot from, it was probably hard to conceive of him shooting from there, but a player of his calibre is well capable of scoring from there. We probably needed that to create a platform from then on.

“In any game you want your big players on the ball, he’s a huge player for us, as are all the lads who were out there, and near the end he was just sticking to his man. David McInerney finished the game strong and Joe stuck to him.”

It was a hard afternoon for Clare whose manager David Fitzgerald had had stents inserted in his heart during the week and although present on the sideline, had to process the crushing disappointment of concluding a third championship since their magical All-Ireland in 2013 without even getting back to Croke Park.

“We knew they’d attack us in packs,” he said. “We said the moment they did that we’d try to get the ball out wide but they were just all over you.

They had a point to prove to certain people and they did it. They were well deserving of their victory: hats off to Galway. Nothing but admiration for the way they played.”

Given Clare’s lack of goal threat and fairly blunt attack in general – Colm Galvin’s five points bettered his team’s cumulative total from play – there was surprise that a fit again Conor McGrath had been held back until nearly the third quarter.

“I’m just wondering who you’d leave off if you wanted to leave off someone.

“Podge was still in good enough nick, he only played 25 minutes yesterday (for the Clare footballers). Any of the rest of them? Aaron Shanagher has been very good for us. You look at John Conlon, has been one of our best forwards all year. Tony Kelly you wouldn’t leave off, if you can fit them in inside there someplace fair enough. In saying that, Conor McGrath was only back from injury and fair play to him.”

Asked did he wish to continue as manager, he said:

“I intend to go home and relax tonight anyhow, that’s what I intend to do! They’ve given me another year, so I’ll see. I’ll sit down and talk with the family. Health is number one, and we’ll see.”

Another manager hopeful to give it another year is Wexford’s Liam Dunne. His side failed to build on the historic win over Cork in the qualifiers against a Waterford side still smarting from the 21-point slapping by Tipperary in the Munster final.

“Obviously I’d love to continue on another year,” said Dunne. “I have to talk with my employers, who have been very good, but we’re building, and to get to the last six with this team is a marvellous achievement. They’re a super group of players. But it’s not for me to decide. Maybe the county board will want someone else to come in, but that’s their decision.”

His counterpart Derek McGrath was content that Waterford had steadied the ship but the next port of call will be champions Kilkenny in Croke Park. He accepted that the fitful response against Wexford wouldn’t be sufficient to that day.

“No, no, and we know that. We’re aware of that. Improvement is going to have to come all over the field. But it’s a balance. With 61 minutes gone in the All-Ireland semi-final last year there were two points in it, and we just never went for the game.

“But it’s a very, very interesting challenge, and one we’re looking forward to, because it’s a great place to be, in the last four of thee hurling championship, two years in a row, from where we’ve come. And we’re just happy and satisfied. We’re not down-playing the significance of the Kilkenny game, but we’re very satisfied with the work here today, to get back there.”