GAA Features

It all seems so long ago now, but not even two months have passed since the most remarkable Leinster Final of modern times. Here are a few clips to refresh your memory.

While lightning is unlikely to strike twice in the form of a comprehensive defeat, Galway fans will be hoping against hope that the final outcome is the same and that the Tribesmen will take the Liam MacCarthy across the Shannon for the first time in 24 years.

Kilkenny will no doubt have taken on board the lessons learned from the humiliation dished out to them at the beginning of July, but while looking back on that encounter will work as a redemptive process for the Cats, it will also serve to remind Galway what they are capable of at full-tilt.

There were so many defining moments in that game that’s it hard to single anything out, but there were a few that proved particularly decisive all the same.

Joe Canning’s goal laid down a marker early on, both that Galway meant business this time around and that Joe himself was determined to make an impact against a team he has struggle against in the past. Have a listen back to the commentary and you’d wonder whether Donal O’Grady had a direct line to the Galway dugout such was the prophetic nature of his words in the run-up to the goal.

Having been so comprehensively on top in the first half there was a worry that Galway would let up after the break, but inspired by the younger players in the side, they continued to put the hammer down.

One of those younger players, David Burke, has been in impressive form all year and unless there is something similarly majestic in the semi-final, surely the score below will turn out to be the greatest in the Championship all season.

Although they were well beaten, the Cats were simply never going to lie down and take it and they at least summoned something resembling a comeback towards the finish. Not surprisingly, Henry Shefflin was at the heart of it and he made the scoreboard look a little more credible when he raised a green flag midway through the second half.

However Sunday’s game turns out, it’s pretty safe to say that the scoreline won’t resemble that of a couple of months back, but if it’s anywhere near as exciting we’re in for a treat.