Farragher believes Tribe have turned a corner

Ger Farrgaher doesn't have to think too hard to isolate the turning point of Galway's league campaign. It came in mid-March at Semple Stadium, where the Tribesmen were left with a sinking feeling of déjà vu.

Farragher was on top of his game as the Tribesmen eased into a 0-13 to 1-6 half-time lead. Game over. Or so they thought. Galway scored just one point in the second half and went home with a nine-point drubbing.

Galway manager John McIntyre summoned his troops for crisis talks after the game and they vowed never to experience that miserable feeling of throwing away a comfortable lead again.

It was an all-too-familiar feeling for Galway, who were dumped out of the Championship in 2009 by Waterford despite leading by six points with ten minutes left.

There were harsh words and some home truths spelled out in the dressing room at Semple Stadium, but the medicine worked. Two weeks later, Farragher knew the team had turned a corner.

At first, it looked like the same old story. Galway led by four points against All-Ireland champions Kilkenny at half-time, but they allowed the Cats back into the game and trailed by four with ten minutes left. The Galway of old would have folded and lost by a hatful, but the Tribesmen showed their mettle and a couple of late Iarla Tannian goals ensured a one-point win and laid a few ghosts to rest.

"Even the Tipp game this year, we went in four points up that time in the league. We came out in the second half and only got one point in the second half," Farragher, an All Star in 2005, explains.

"That was one thing that we set our mind on - that it wouldn't happen in the league again this year."We played Kilkenny and they kind of came back at us and got seven scores in a row. But we came back and drove at them again. Hopefully we can learn from the Waterford and the Tipp game."

McIntyre, the Galway boss, has made no secret of the fact that he has set his players ambitious goals this year. He set out to win the Walsh Cup. Check. He targeted the Allianz GAA Hurling National League Division 1 title. Check. Wexford are next on the radar at Nowlan Park in the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship next Saturday night.

The confidence that drained from the Galway players after the Waterford debacle last year has slowly crept back into the players. The league final win over Cork was a major step in the rehabilitation process, Farragher says.

"We won the league and it breeds confidence. When you are winning it is great for the morale in the team and everything. Hopefully we can bring that form into the Championship.

"At the start of the year we set out to win the Walsh Cup and we did that. We set out to win the league and we have done that as well. It's not the Leinster final or the Championship or anything, it's Wexford we are looking at on May 29. We are not looking past that."

Farragher reckons the move into Leinster means Galway are now on a "level playing field" going into the Championship, but they might well be one step ahead of the rest after playing in an intense and rewarding league final win over Cork. The 3-17 to 2-13 defeat of the Rebels was another redemptive step for Galway, but the Championship is all that matters now for Farragher.

"It was the first game all year that was real Championship pace. It kind of died down in the second half, but it was as fast as Championship, but the next day in Championship is going to be another step up again," he concludes.