After finding a renewed surge at the death to claim victory, the character shown by Galway in their win over Kilkenny in Division 1A of the Allianz Hurling League was what impressed Shane McGrath the most, as Micheál Donoghue looks to put his stamp on the side in his second coming as manager.
In the end, the Tribesmen prevailed by 2-19 to 1-19, but only after they let an eight-point advantage they had at one stage slip, with an Eoin Cody goal putting the Cats in front for the first time on 62 minutes. However, an unanswered run of three points from frees by sub Jason Flynn, followed by one from play in the 72nd minute from Conor Whelan, saw Galway eventually claim the spoils at UPMC Nowlan Park.
The nature of the performance from Donoghue's men was in marked contrast to their opening-round defeat to Tipperary, a display marked by much lethargy.
Darren Morrissey, Pádraic Mannion, Gavin Lee and Conor Cooney returned to the starting XV for the trip to the Marble City, with Daithí Burke and Jason Flynn amongst the subs. Declan McLoughlin, operating in the full-forward line, bagged 2-02.
"It was chalk and cheese from the Tipp game," was Shane McGrath's summation of Galway performance, when speaking on the latest RTÉ GAA Podcast.
McGrath went on to single out those who shone brightest a week on from that no-show against the Premier.
"Gavin Lee was unbelievable at centre-back and because Lee was unbelievable at centre-back, Pádraic Mannion was unbelievable at wing-back. And you had quality ball that going in to the lads inside. Galway left 2v2 inside and left a lot of space. One of the those two was Mikey Butler v Declan McLoughlin and McLoughlin comes away with 2-02 from play. Anybody that scores 2-02 off Mikey Butler has had a good day out and it was because of the quality of the ball coming into him.
"McLoughlin will take great confidence from that and I'm sure Mikey Butler will look at it as a learning for him and the standard that he holds himself to."
What also impressed the former Tipp All-Ireland winner was the manner in which Galway found a renewed sense of purpose after going behind for the first time, all the more impressive when you are in the Cats' back garden.
"When Kilkenny get a run on you, more often than not you can't get it back because they are so good at home and the crowd gets behind them," he added.
"They use the home advantage to the max. Kilkenny hit Galway for 1-06, this after it was 2-15 to 0-13, and now it's 2-15 to 1-19. Galway are now down a point but their reaction to it was to score four points in a row.
"That shows good character and you really only get that from the more experienced guys, with the younger, less experienced guys more often than not they will probably fold under that pressure.
"You have the likes of Pádraic Mannion, Fintan Burke, Gavin Lee being exceptional, and moving up through the field where Jason Flynn came on and took over the frees. He nailed every one of them."
It may be early on on in the Micheál Donoghue 2.0 reign, but McGrath highlighted what key players can offer through the spine of the team.
"There is a bit of character in this group, bit of resilience and a bit of resolve," he remarked.
"They got the win but Galway have definitely something to build on. I think what you'll see from now on is that the spine of the team might not change too much. You might have Fintan (Burke), Gavin Lee at midfield, centre-forward or full-forward and Micheál will say let's build around these guys and see where it takes us.
"It's a long-term project for Micheál, a four-year contract, but as I said before if he does not get short-term results, he may not get to fulfil that contract."
Watch Wexford v Kilkenny in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
