Galway v Waterford - GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final
By John Harrington
Galway’s Johnny Coen says the pain of previous defeats helped drive them to victory against Waterford in today’s All-Ireland Hurling Final.
Coen played on the Galway team that was beaten in the 2012 All-Ireland Final after a replay by Kilkenny and suffered defeat once more against the Cats in the 2015 Final.
His attitude going into today’s match against Waterford was that he simply refused to be beaten again.
“There are only so many beatings you can take as a player and as a person,” said Coen after the match.
“You have to find something else inside yourself.
“Your confidence could be knocked a little bit and the players and management pick you up and it’s really the players who have driven it on since the start of the year.
“Delighted to get over the line at this stage - a long time coming. Relief more than anything at this stage. We were here in ’12 we were here in ’15 and we were unlucky against Tipp last year as well.
“Every team has to be constantly evolving, be that players, management or backroom, because you can’t keep going with the same system and fail. Something had to change.”
The din of singing and cheering from the Galway dressing-room was very audible in the tunnel underneath the Hogan Stand after the match, and Coen admitted sharing the win with his team-mates was a special experience.
“It’s great. We had a big circle and we’ve had that all year - everyone is part of the circle. It doesn’t matter if you’re number one, number 36 or part of the backroom team - everyone is contributing.
“To see the boys you’re training with and the joy in their faces is fantastic."
Galway v Waterford - GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final
The age profile of this Galway team is quite young, and with the talent they have in their ranks they’re going to be All-Ireland contenders for the foreseeable future.
They’ll enjoy this long-awaited victory in the days and weeks ahead, but Coen admitted they want to also use it as a launch-pad for further success.
“We’re delighted to win this one, but the dream is back-to-back or to win a few more,” he said.
“We’re capable, the age profile is quite low, but we’re long enough waiting since ’88…this is unknown territory really!
“I met Pete Finnerty abroad on the field, an absolute legend, and you have Joe Connolly, Conor Hayes who are up on a pedestal and we knew if we won anything we might be up there with them.
“You’d be hoping with the age profile we have that we can kick on again.”
