Galway have mounted one of the worst defences of an All Ireland hurling title ever, and the result will 'haunt' them - so says former All Ireland winner, Daithi Regan.
Daithi was speaking to Off The Ball following Galway's defeat to Limerick in yesterday's Croke Park set-piece, and was particularly perplexed by the Tribesmen's tactical setup.
"I think this will haunt them. I think it will Micheál Donoghue and his management team, and I think that it will haunt the players," said Daithi.
"You looked at that game yesterday and it wasn't anything near a classic, and if you were looking at it from home then it looked a very average game of hurling."
Regan's reading of proceedings comes having taking the time to review the action at Croke Park, and he was critical of Galway's approach.
"That was a very poor defence of an All Ireland title. That was a really poor performance from Galway. It lacked intensity. It lacked imagination. It lacked a response to what was happening in front of them, both from players on the pitch and from the management.
"If you are to be honestly critical about it, I think it was one of the worst defences of an All Ireland title from a superb bunch of players - a superb team."
It was Galway's lackadaisical approach to Limerick's puck-out strategy that typified the performance, according to Regan.
"The three half-forwards are pulling into the middle, and Flanagan is literally on the edge of the square, sprinting, creating two yards and sprinting thirty metres so that by the time he is there, it is bouncing into his hand. A puck-out should not bounce in Croke Park in front of you and running on it with all that space.
"I was looking at it thinking 'What are Galway doing? They know this is coming...'"
Daithi was also perplexed by lack of intensity being shown by Galway, particularly when contrasted with Limerick's approach to the match.
"Every Limerick player within twenty metres sprinted to the ball like a savage animal that hasn't been fed in weeks. They just converged on everything [...] and Galway didn't match that intensity."
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