FORMER Galway captain Paul Clancy says uncovering new leaders capable of kicking crucial scores in big games has been central to the Tribe’s resurgence.
Two-time All-Ireland winner Clancy noted that while Galway contested the 2022 final, against Kerry, they were ultimately too reliant on Shane Walsh and Damien Comer in attack.
Walsh kicked nine of Galway’s 16 points in that 2022 final and remains their talisman but Armagh will have to account for several more scoring threats this Sunday.
Rob Finnerty, Paul Conroy, Cillian McDaid and Matthew Tierney have weighed in with important scores throughout the summer for Galway, as has Footballer of the Year favourite Dylan McHugh.
“I think we found out in 2022 that we were not getting enough of a spread of scorers in the team to win an All-Ireland,” said Clancy at an event organised by Championship sponsors AIB.
“We were probably dependent on Damien and Shane for lots of the scores whereas now, there is a bigger spread of scorers and I think that has been one of the big things that has been winning us games.”
Tomo Culhane also kicked what proved to be the winning point in Galway’s quarter-final defeat of holders Dublin. Culhane was part of the Galway U20 team that won the 2020 All-Ireland and several of his colleagues from that success will return to Croke Park on Sunday.
Galway’s full-back line of Johnny McGrath, Sean Fitzgerald and Jack Glynn was also the full-back line for the U20 breakthrough. Prior to that, Galway teams contested minor finals in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
“It has proven to be really important,” said Clancy of the development of that core of players.
“They haven’t all come in at the same time, you look back and they have been coming through in ones and twos and been holding their place. And then you get that nice mix with some of the older players, the likes of Shane and Damien, who have a lot of football played, Sean Kelly, Paul Conroy.
“Again, that has helped close the gap so you are not as dependent on the older lads to get us over the line.”
Clancy hails from the same Moycullen stable as Kelly, the Galway skipper whose involvement in Sunday’s decider remains in doubt. The versatile midfielder came off early in the quarter-final win over Dublin and didn’t feature at all in the semi-final triumph over Donegal despite being initially listed to play.
“There’s a 24-hour debate in Moycullen over what Sean Kelly might and might not do,” said Clancy, who was chairman of the club up until last winter.
“Sean had a great run for about 18 months where he was injury-free and playing for us in the club and then playing for Galway. He’s just been unfortunate with the run of injuries that he’s had. What can you do? He’d be a huge addition to us if he can play.
“But with all the injuries that Galway have had this season, people have stepped up. We can go through all the permutations here of who should start and who might go where, and believe me, we’ve done that here in Moycullen all weekend.
“Even watching the hurling final, when it goes to extra-time and things like that, you’re thinking to have someone like Sean to come on if he’s fit would be excellent.
“But I suppose from the club’s point of view we’re just extremely proud of him. Sean just always wants to play, whether he’s injured or he’s fit, he just always wants to play. Hopefully he can play at the weekend.”
Clancy’s feeling is that it will be a cautious and tense final.
“We’ve had one draw between them already (2022) and that was an unbelievable game, that went to penalties,” he said.
“Then we’ve had a draw in Markievicz Park this year, a very tight game in the group so I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a draw again at the weekend.”
