MARTIN CARNEY: Young lads will walk tall again

IN the end it wasn’t to be. Instead of winning our first minor title since 2013, we were witness to a classic ambush perfectly planned and expertly executed.

Mayo youngsters in this All-Ireland final were ripe for plucking, not fully comprehending the task facing them despite all the advice, warnings and entreaties from management. Having thrashed their opponents twice already in Connacht, it was natural that expectation was high and Mayo were understandably favourites.

Alas, a wonderful journey ended in disappointment as the Under 17 team’s bid for All-Ireland glory came up short against a Galway team who on the night found their groove when it mattered most.

Played in bright and windy conditions before an expectant attendance of 13,000, the Tribesmen found their rhythm from an early stage, gradually built a lead, grew in belief and managed to sustain their dominance throughout apart from a couple of brief stages in either half.

Establishing early confidence can go a long way in determining the course of a game like this. Notching an early score, winning an individual duel with your immediate rival and managing to establish territorial superiority all add up. Under all of these headings Galway got the upper hand from the start. In contrast, favoured by the wind, the Green and Red were a little slow to find their rhythm.

A wonderful early save by the Galway netminder Kyle Gilmore coupled to his team’s careful use of possession helped the Tribesmen settle and sowed seeds of doubt in Mayo. Poor use of the ball by Mayo on occasions when openings were there didn’t help and added to their frustration.

The accuracy of Eanna Monaghan from placed balls helped Galway’s cause because in open play during their opening quarter, others in their attack were guilty of some hasty and inaccurate shooting. To a man, even at this stage, Galway were the more composed outfit and possessed a self- belief that carried them to the finish. The early season form evident in the Mayo attack was rendered redundant by a double sweeper policy employed by Galway on the night.

Nonetheless rays of hope were sustained by some textbook long-range kicking by James Maheady in this opening period. Seeing the difficulties his colleagues were experiencing closer to goal, he backed himself with three wonderful shots from distance that found their target.

When Colm McHale stole forward from centre back close to the half-time whistle and landed another, this left just two between the teams. In the circumstances, given how below par they had performed, the gap between the teams I felt was manageable.

DOMINANCE

A sign of a team’s hunger can be gauged by their strength in the tackle, their ability to win turnover ball and their frequency in gobbling breaking ball from restarts.

In all three areas Galway enjoyed dominance throughout most of the second half. Indeed, if Mayo were to change the trend they needed to put a few scores on the board immediately after the break. Alas, this didn’t happen. Instead, it was Galway who continued to play the game on their terms.

An early score from Shane McGlinchey added to a brace from Colm Costello stretched their lead to five points before eventually Ronan Clarke stopped the rot with his team’s first score of the half in the 43rd minute. By this stage Galway, I felt, were operating a policy of ‘what we have we hold’ by dropping everyone behind their own 45-meter line and hitting Mayo on the break.

Clarke's point was quickly followed by another but that hoped-for renaissance never materialised, even though territorially they spent quite an amount of time in the Galway half.

The quality and variation in the Galway restarts were other features that carried the Tribesmen to their seventh success in the grade. Gilmore’s pinpoint accuracy with long deliveries when wind-aided allowed Galway launch quick-fire attacks at a Mayo defence that had pushed high up the field. On the back of this a number of scoring opportunities were created.

At the end Galway fully deserved their win. They played with greater poise than their opponents, got big performances from their key players and had sufficient composure to stick with a system that worked on the night.

Much criticism was directed at the referee on the back of some decisions, or indeed non-decisions, made but to include him on the list of reasons as to why Mayo lost would be wrong. Galway simply learned more from their earlier defeats and the improvement shown by the likes of Tomas Farthing, Colm Costello, Jack Lonergan and Eanna Monaghan in particular was noticeable.

It’s not their fault that they participated in a competition where they had already experienced three defeats (pretty absurd when you think about it) but they must be complimented along with their management team in finding the solutions needed to beat Mayo.

Mayo will be devastated. Their loyal and huge support will equally find it hard to come to terms with the setback. Yet, to criticise lads of their age and limited experience would be wrong in my opinion. Playing a game (in the end that’s all it is – a game) of that importance at such a young age places huge demands on their young shoulders.

Coping with nerves and expectation before a huge attendance while at the same time trying to get the most out of themselves is something new that can often prove too much of a burden. Discovering that the team you oppose – that same outfit that in their two previous meetings only managed a total of 11 points against you – are in an altogether different mood can be hard to deal with. Adapting and adjusting to the new circumstances was on the night beyond them.

All of them can carry their heads high. The clubs that nurtured them, the families that gave the necessary encouragement and the academy that was part of their formative years have much to be proud of.

These lads will walk tall again. They have far too much in life and sport to anticipate and relish to allow themselves be burdened by what happened last Friday.