On the couch: watching a big game on GAA+

Thomas Lyons

The preference last weekend was to take to the road along with around 15,000 other Westmeath fans travelling to Galway for the latest step of a thrilling journey. Unfortunately family commitments reduced the viewing experience from panoramic to online.

A feature of the Westmeath Examiner’s comprehensive sports coverage often features a ‘key moment’ in a shaded text box. A single moment rarely defines any sporting contest, but can often have disproportionate significance.

The review by the Westmeath statistical specialists of the Round 2 fixture in the All-Ireland SFC that took place in Salthill will probably focus on a single 20-second passage of play.

The first half coming to a conclusion. A ball drops short. The clearance up the pitch played to the Galway corner forward. Shane Walsh. Socks up, head down, a sweet strike with the outside of the boot tracked the path of the sun, east to west across the sky. Matty Tierney slaps the ball into the net.

That goal before half-time put a seven-point gap between the sides. The GAA+ pundits rummaged through the almanac of sporting clichés to describe the long diagonal ball through Westmeath hearts. “A big, big score at a crucial moment”; “a sucker punch”; and a “devastating blow”.

This is not to deride clichés – they are a necessary shorthand in off the cuff comments or writing to deadline. This was a key moment, but clawing back a deficit has been a feature of the ’26 Westmeath campaign.

Yet still it dredged up memories of the final minute of the last game in the league campaign.

The coverage of Sunday’s the match on the digital platform had a couple of benefits over being part of the day. Sure, you miss out on the stroll down the Salthill prom in glorious sunshine, but you get the insight of Marc O’Sé, who harked back to his uncle’s time in charge of the Lake County men.

He suggested that Westmeath would love the underdog tag, but made a portentous observation about the importance of primary possession.

In his observation on the game’s potential, Pádraig O’Hora started by saying it was “hard to see beyond Galway” then finished by suggesting Westmeath would win. Mike Tierney’s suggestion was that “on paper there is only one winner”.

After a nervy start, both teams settled quickly. Up to minute seven, there was little between the sides. Then a point followed by a Walsh goal inside 20 seconds asserted the tribesmen’s dominance.

The resultant kickout gave the TV viewers the first indication of the wind in Pearse Stadium, the ball went as high as it went long.

Another feature of TV coverage is getting a glimpse of two dynamic managers as they ranged like caged tigers inside their technical areas.

Live games give the observer a better view of the action. No matter how wide the angle on TV, movement off the ball is impossible to catch.

That said, it was clear that Galway’s ability to create space behind the defence was frightening.

The first 35 minutes of play were not ones where Westmeath enjoyed the summer breeze, as a couple of shots that fell short and another couple shunted either side of posts.

There was no doubt Galway’s homework assignment covered the Westmeath kickout that had stood to them so well in the previous five games. The stats close to the break showed Galway secured five of their seven, while the visitors only mustered three of 11 restarts. Then there was the manner in which they converged on the ball carrier inside the D, bottling up attackers with discipline.

The online coverage showed a lot of positives for Westmeath in this game, but misfortune seemed to play its part. An example was the start of the second half when Ray Connellan executed a remarkable fetch, only to pull up with injury after.

Even in loss, this was a thrilling game. There were remarkable performances across the pitch, not just Galway heroes like Céin D’Arcy, but many players in the temporary green strip.

Westmeath’s fortitude to repeatedly close gaps is a source of constant joy for supporters. To quote Padraig Joyce after the game: “They have qualities that other teams won’t like.”

Joyce also spoke of the importance of getting the two pointers in the first half, and how the goals changed the dynamics of the game. Watching the game on a small screen affords a more sterile assessment to the live experience, but the Galway manager’s read of the tie appeared to be accurate.

The next outing is this weekend when the road to Clones leads the massive Westmeath contingent on another journey to see their beloved team face Monaghan.

Watching at home on GAA+ is all very well, and does have its upsides, but nothing compares to being part of the maroon horde.