'As a forward, you dream of days like this' – Walsh relishes Galway’s ruthless play

Galway’s Shane Walsh isn’t one to get carried away, but even he had to admit — days like this don’t come around too often.  

The wind at his back, the posts locked in his sights, and the ball gliding effortlessly through the Salthill air.  

Eleven points, three from the new two-point arc, and a Galway performance that blew Donegal away before they had time to settle. In the end, the home side emerged 0-21 to 0-14 point winners over Donegal. 

“As a forward, you dream about those days when you catch a few sweet ones with the wind,” Walsh said after the game.  

“The conditions were mad. I don’t know if TV would do it justice, but it was class to be kicking with it.” 

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Galway certainly made the most of it. Seven two-pointers in the first half set the tone, with Walsh himself leading the charge alongside Mattie Tierney and Rob Finnerty.  

Donegal were drowning before they even had a chance to find their feet. By half-time, Galway were 0-17 to 0-1 up, and the contest was all but over. 

“The message before the game was just to have a go,” Walsh explained. “We didn’t make enough of our chances last week, but today was just about making sure.  

“We worked the ball into good areas. Mattie took on a few good ones. Rob did, and I did. They all add up at the end of the day.” 

The second half was a different challenge, Galway now battling into the same storm that Donegal had failed to overcome earlier. With a lead that big, managing the game was the priority. 

“We just played to our strengths,” Walsh said. “People think we’re all big lads, but we’ve good footballers too. Seán, Liam, John Maher — all of them running up from the back, that’s a big advantage.” 

Donegal did make inroads in the second half, but Galway always seemed to find a score just when they needed it. 

“Pádraic (Joyce) said it at half-time — we might only get four, five, six opportunities after the break, and we had to take them. I thought we did that well,” he said.  

“Even when there were periods without a score, we kept the scoreboard moving at the right times to break their momentum.” 

There was a moment of controversy just before the break when Mattie Tierney was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Hugh McFadden. Walsh had a clear view of it. 

“To be honest, I remember seeing it. Mattie lined him up, and I thought he ducked his head into it,” he said. “It’s hard to call in the moment. Look, the officials have to protect players, but Mattie was devastated at half-time. That’s not in his nature.” 

For Galway, the response to last week’s loss to Derry was as important as the result itself. Walsh felt they had learned their lesson. 

“Last week, we didn’t break Derry’s momentum in the final quarter. Today, we won ball we shouldn’t have won, and made tackles we shouldn’t have made. That was the difference.  

“And we kept the scoreboard ticking — only two second-half scores against Derry, three or four today, even in worse conditions. That’s huge.” 

As for the new two-point rule? Walsh is all for it. 

“I love it. It’s bringing back the real skills of the game — one-on-ones, lads taking shots on, side-stepping. That’s what football is about.  

“People said the game was getting boring, all the sideways stuff, but now you have to go for it. And for us forwards, that’s great. It’s all about having a go.”