Expectations high as Galway go for glory on the big stage

By JIM CARNEY IT'S hard to credit that there's been a strong G.A.A. movement lobbying over the past two-to-three years for the inter-county U-21 Football and Hurling Championships to be taken out of the calendar and replaced by an U-19 series [private]â€â€ in an effort to prevent burn-out among 20/21-year-olds committed to playing for their clubs and county in more than one grade, and many of them also involved in Third-Level G.A.A. competitions. So far, that movement for change has been resisted and there's increasingly a national mood for keeping the U-21 grade, which has been hugely successful since its inception in 1964. Without the U-21 Football Championship this year, Galway would be left consoled only by the thought that three National League points out of 10 are a lot better than no points out of 10, as it was looking just before the Round 6 away win over Armagh and the honourable draw with Dublin in the concluding Round 7. Then came a massive lift for Galway football with the proud march of Alan Mulholland's U-21 team to next Sunday's Cadbury-sponsored All-Ireland final against Cavan, and the exciting news early last week that it would be played at Croke Park as curtain-raiser to the Allianz National Hurling League Div. 1 final between Dublin and Kilkenny. Galway will have an enthusiastic following at Croke Park, especially after the thrilling victory over Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final at Cusack Park, Ennis last Saturday week, but they will be outnumbered by Cavan. An appearance at Croke Park, on a big day, is just what the Breffni county needs to restore its old pride as a major football force. The famous Blue and White colours were lowered in Ulster in the late 1960s â€â€ they've won only one Ulster S.F.C. title since, in 1997, but they still head their provincial Roll of Honour with 39 titles, a long way ahead of Armagh, 14; Monaghan and Tyrone 13, Down 12, Antrim 10, Derry 7 and Donegal 5. Cavan's record in the All-Ireland S.F.C. is five titles: 1933, '35, '47, '48 and '52; one National League victory, in 1948, and two All-Ireland Minor titles, 1937/38. Twice Ulster U-21 champions, in 1988 and 1996, Cavan could not add the All-Ireland in those two years, so it would be historic for their proud county if the present team win at Croke Park next Sunday, but Galway will be considered favourites to deny them that honour. Alan Mulholland and fellow-selectors, Donal Ó Fatharta (An Spidéal) and Alan Flynn (Tuam Stars), would prefer a low-key build-up to the final but everywhere outside of Cavan it's felt that if Galway are good enough to knock out the Cork team which blitzed their greatest rivals Kerry 2-24 to 0-8 in the Munster final at Páirc Uí Rinn, the Connacht champions should therefore be too strong for a Cavan squad who've had a stamina-sapping long run to get to Croke Park. Under the management of Terry Hyland, who is also a county senior team mentor, Cavan played three matches in the Ulster Championship, with wins over Fermanagh and Donegal before they shocked Tyrone in the provincial final. In fairness to Tyrone, All-Ireland Minor champions in 2008 and last year, it took three days (including extra-time twice) to decide their quarter-final clash with Down. Then, controversially, the pressure was piled on Cavan when they were forced to play twice in four days, for after their Ulster Final win over Tyrone on Wednesday, April 13th they had to play Wexford in the All-Ireland semi-final on the Saturday evening, but although nearly exhausted in the closing stages of that game at Parnell Park, Dublin they did enough to win it, 1-10 to 0-8. Burnout fear It probably isn't the best advertisement for Cavan and Wexford that they could not do any better on the scoreboard in their semi-final than 0-4 apiece at half-time, although that may not mean anything the next day. A bigger problem for Cavan may be the fatigue factor. I read a remarkable piece last weekend about the Cavan captain and anchor man at midfield, Gearóid McKiernan, who must be dangerously close to burn-out after a hectic few months with his club (Swanlinbar), university team (D.I.T.) and county. This exciting young prospect helped Cavan U-21s to last year's Ulster final, while through the winter he was a key figure in his club's march to the All-Ireland Junior Club Championship final at â€Â¨Croke Park on Saturday, February 12th, when they lost to â€Â¨Caherciveen from Kerry, powered by county senior star Bryan Sheehan. Around the same time, Gearóid McKiernan was also playing Third-Level football with D.I.T. and then he led his county into the Ulster U-21 Championship. He got the Man of the Match award in the provincial final victory but was reportedly not as effective or influential against Wexford, and the Cavan team management have given him a rest since; he wasn't even asked to attend a local Press night gathering last week. 'We were delighted to get through to the All-Ireland final but it's been a very busy schedule for us all,' the player was quoted as saying. 'I've had a lot of football over the last few months and I'm taking a break for a few days before the final,' while his manager Terry Hyland added: 'Gearóid has played a lot of football, on the go since this time last year. That's probably the burn-out factor that people talk about. In the middle of that age group they are being pulled left, right and centre. Club, College and County U-21 and senior, he's ended up trying to satisfy four masters.' In contrast, happily from our point of view here in Galway, the Cavan captain's likely direct opponent next Sunday, Thomas Flynn, a younger man, is much more 'lightly raced,' as they call it in horse racing parlance. A County minor last year, whose progress in that grade at 17 and 18 was surely a magnificent tribute to Gerry Fahy (Galway Minor team manager in the past two years), Thomas is repeating his Leaving Cert at Pres., Ahenry this year. He's also, of course, a brilliant prospect in hurling â€â€ Man of the Match in the drawn County Minor final between Athenry and Gort last year â€â€ but he's not been under pressure in either code and, significantly, it was very evident that in his outstanding displays for Galway U-21 footballers recently he clearly was enjoying the experience, uninhibited and free of pressure. Incidentally, I'm grateful to Mick Crimmins (Snr.), from Athenry, for a particularly interesting piece of information: young Tom Flynn is a great-grandnephew of the legendary hurling goalkeeper Tony Reddin, who was a native of Mullagh, Co. Galway but had moved to Lorrha, Tipperary by the time his fame started to grow. A winner of three senior All-Ireland titles, three Munster titles and five National Hurling League titles with Tipperary and five Railway Cup medals with Munster, Tony was chosen in 1984 on the Hurling Team of the Century and sixteen years later on the Team of the Millennium. It's probably unfair to expect that Thomas Flynn and his young partner Fionntán Ó Curraoin, who was also a Galway minor last year, can go four days in a row asserting so much superiority at midfield, and no doubt Alan Mulholland will look to the likes of Jonathan Duane and Tomás Fahy to provide support from the half-back line and Conor Doherty and Micheál Boyle to drop back from their wing-forward positions, collect the ball and use their speed to attack: Boyle's blistering pace got Galway their match-winning goal against Cork but Doherty played some brilliant football in that game, too. In the second half, in particular, he upset the Cork backs by running at them; that took strength and courage, and the very talented young Tuam man also had the skill to do it, and he did it really well. The Galway full-forward line will have to be on their toes from the first whistle â€â€ all three who started against Cork were substituted, with excellent replacements available. To repeat a point I made last week, there clearly isn't as much strength in depth at midfield and in defence. At the back, of course, there are two county senior players in the central positions, captain Colin Forde at No. 3 and Jonny Duane at No. 6. BEFORE this year's run, Galway had just two wins in the grade since 2005. Our reporter Billy Coss's records show that Galway defeated Sligo in Tuam in a Connacht semi-final in 2006 and Leitrim in Ballinasloe in a Connacht quarter-final in '07. 2010 Connacht semi-final: Lost to Sligo by 0-13 to 0-12 (after extra-time) 2009 Connacht quarter-final: Lost to Mayo by 2-6 to 0-11 2008 Connacht semi-final: Lost to Sligo by 0-15 to 0-12 2007 Connacht quarter-final: Beat Leitrim by 3-20 to 0-6 Connacht semi-final: Lost to Mayo. 2006 Connacht semi-final: Beat Sligo by 2-8 to 1-9 Connacht final: Lost to Mayo by 0-15 to 1-5 With shrewd leadership from the sideline, Galway will be calm and focused on their task going into this All-Ireland final. The game will have a marvellous setting, and it will be an extraordinary scene when the Blue of the Dublin hurling supporters merges and blends with the Blue of Cavan's thousands of football-mad followers! That'll be exciting, but what we really wish to see at Croke Park next Sunday, at around 3.30, is Maroon and White fying highest of all colours. Paths to Croke Park GALWAY 2-20    Sligo 0-7 Galway 1-10    Roscommon 0-4 Galway 1-11    Cork 0-12 CAVAN 1-13    Fermanagh 1-7 Cavan 0-12    Donegal 1-4 Cavan 1-10    Tyrone 0-10 Cavan 1-10    Wexford 0-8 [/private]