Cork 1-19
Galway 1-17

Dara Bradley

No need to push the panic button just yet. It’s a tad early for that but Galway are now in serious danger of being dragged into a relegation battle for survival in Division 1 of the National Football League after a mixed performance saw the Tribesmen fall to a far superior Cork team at a floodlit Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday evening.

Galway started the league brilliantly last year and were in flying form in February and March but faded badly when it mattered as the season progressed – and the poor form continued through a lacklustre Championship campaign when it became apparent that the hard graft hadn’t been put in over the dark nights of Winter.
There has been no real early promise shown so far b

y Joe Kernan’s men and we must now hope that the new manager has run the socks off them and pushed them to the limit in Winter training – a regime that could stand to them later on this year.

Certainly, Galway looked flatfooted and rusty in the first half at Páirc Uí Rinn and if that staleness isn’t because of a rigorous training schedule and rather a continuation of last season’s mediocrity then there is cause for concern. Only time will tell.

But there was enough positives in Galway’s second half display against the 2009 Munster champions and All-Ireland runners-up to assuage supporters’ jitters and the Armagh man will have learned a lot about his charges’ abilities and limitations from this outing by the Lee, which in the end turned out to be an honourable defeat.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way. Captain Seán Armstrong pulled a hamstring just 10 minutes in, which was a massive blow as he had showed early verve, and the Salthill man could be facing several weeks on the sideline.

Nicky Joyce, who along with the ever reliable Michael Meehan proved to be the westerners only constant attacking threat, was also injured late on and it is difficult to see where the scores will come from for the remaining league fixtures if the Killererin man is facing a lengthy lay-off.

When Armstrong was hauled ashore, Galway’s half-forward line was anonymous and asked no serious questions of Cork’s half-back line of Paudie Kissane, Ger Spillane and Noel O’Leary who were always in control.

Conor Healy and Damien Dunleavy along the flanks were simply not at the races on Saturday and arguably could have been substituted earlier, while Joe Bergin was unusually subdued when switched from the edge of the square.

The half-back line was only marginally better – although the dynamism of David Reilly caught the eye and the Menlough man looks the part, even chipping in with a point – but collectively they far too often allowed the Rebels saunter through with ease, putting unnecessary pressure on the last line of defence. Where was Gary O’Donnell and in particular centre back Diarmuid Blake when Cork targeted their channels?

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.