Pádraic Joyce made it clear when he took charge of Galway five years ago that his side would play football in the attacking style that the county was traditionally renowned for. But while they possess undoubted class up front, the consistency of his team’s defence has been the bedrock upon which they have built their progress to a second All-Ireland final in three years.
Seven players have started all nine championship games for Galway this summer and six of these are in a rearguard – veteran midfielder Paul Conroy is the other – which has conceded just one goal in the games against London, Sligo, Mayo, Derry, Westmeath, Armagh, Monaghan, Dublin and Donegal.
The goal was conceded against Armagh in a mix-up between goalkeeper Connor Gleeson and defender John Daly, and is the only blemish for a side that has an average concession rate of 13.4 points per match, while scoring 18.4 points on average up front.
Two years ago when Galway played six championship games including the All-Ireland final loss to Kerry, they conceded six goals and had a concession rate of 17.1 points, while hitting 21.8 in attack.
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Galway have well-documented injury problems this year, but nearly all of these have been from midfield forward with Shane Walsh, Damien Comer, Cillian McDaid, Rob Finnerty and versatile skipper Seán Kelly (the lone defender) among the high-profile casualties.
Twenty-four different players have started games for Galway in this championship, but just eight have started in the seven defensive positions.
Goalkeeper Gleeson and the full-back line of Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald and Jack Glynn have been ever-present; so too have half-backs Dylan McHugh and Liam Silke. John Daly has started five games, Seán Mulkerrin has started four. It’s a unit that is very easy to select.
“They’re never injured,” noted selector John Concannon. “They’ve kept some of the best footballers, the best forwards in Ireland, quiet all through the league and so far in the championship. They don’t get enough credit, in my opinion, for the amount of minutes they played.”
For all their injury travails, Galway have used just two players more this summer than when they played six championship games two years ago, when beaten by Kerry in the final. In 2022 they used 26 players, 17 of whom started at least one game. This summer 28 have seen action with 24 different players starting a championship game.
Only five players have started all 15 championship games that Galway played in 2022 and this year – Gleeson, Glynn, Silke, McHugh and Conroy.
The arrival of Johnny McGrath and Seán Fitzgerald as ever-presents this summer has added to the harvest which Joyce and his selectors have enjoyed from an under-20 team managed by Donal Ó Fátharta which defeated Dublin in the 2020 All-Ireland final.
Nine of that starting team which captured the under-20 title in an empty Croke Park during Covid a week before Christmas are now 70 minutes away from winning a senior medal on Sunday. Four of them — McGrath, Fitzgerald, Glynn and Matthew Tierney look set to start with replacement goalkeeper Conor Flaherty, Cathal Sweeney, Tomo Culhane and Paul Kelly on the bench, while Cian Hernon is out injured.
This will be a first senior All-Ireland final day for a dozen of the 39-man squad but manager Joyce said competition for places has never been as strong, a fact emphasised by 2022 All Star centre-back John Daly and the equally impressive Kieran Molloy being unable to make the starting 15 this summer. Joyce said the players know the competition has been high and that hard calls have to be made in team selection.
“The lads themselves know that it is really hard,” said Joyce. “But it’s great. There’s brilliant competition in the squad but the lads understand that and realise that but there is still great competitiveness there. When the lads are playing, those that aren’t will shake their hands and wish them well.”
Five of Galway’s nine All-Ireland titles have been won without conceding a goal in the final and Joyce knows another clean sheet on Sunday would go a long way towards success.
He noted during the week that the Galway team which won three-in-a-row in 1964, ‘65 and ‘66 played just 11 games over the three years and here’s his side playing their 10th this summer.
But it will not have escaped his attention either that key to that famous three-in-a-row was the fact they didn’t concede a goal in any of those three finals against Kerry (twice) and Meath.
For all their attacking flair, defence is key to success for Galway.
