Another dose of Thurles blues for erratic Galway

Tipperary  2-18

Galway 0-20

GALWAY’S dismal record at Semple Stadium continued on Sunday as the Tribesmen’s concession of two relatively cheap goals just after half-time cost them a result from this entertaining National Hurling League second round fixture.

With only two victories at Semple Stadium in the past, Galway had to write a new chapter in the record books if they were to come away with a win but, instead, the bones of the story on Sunday was much as it had been in previous meetings at the venue.

From a performance perspective, Galway’s showing was satisfactory in terms of its honesty, intensity, commitment and endeavour while they also ticked a lot of boxes in terms of their discipline, dominance under the puck-out and scoring chances created.

Indeed, for the second week running Anthony Cunningham’s charges carved a considerable amount more scoring opportunities than their opposition; however, unlike the Clare game where they got away with a lower percentage return, they did not on this occasion against a more clinical Tipperary outfit.

This has been the crux of Galway’s problem for some time. They can be competitive in almost every facet of the game for long periods, but when it comes to plunging the dagger with scores on the board into the opposition’s heart they invariable miss the vital organ at the crucial moment.

Take their two provincial SHC ties against Kilkenny last year where they created just as many chances as the All-Ireland champions elect, but had to rely on a freakish scoring burst to secure a draw in the initial fixture before losing out in the replay – again, despite, creating an equal amount of chances as the Cats.

Galway did it again on Sunday but in addition to nine wides, you had multiple efforts falling short into Tipperary goalkeeper Darren Gleeson’s welcoming hand, instances of choosing the wrong option of the percentage shot and some poor decision-making in the offensive lines leading to the breakdown of moves.

All of those areas can be worked on over the coming weeks and months but what was most worrying from a Galway viewpoint was that when the game was there to be won – having clawed back a 10-point deficit to just three with seven minutes remaining – they failed to back themselves to get over the line.

Cunningham’s men went from scoring six unanswered points through Jason Flynn (free), Jonathan Glynn, substitute Brian Molloy, Cathal Mannion and the impressive Joseph Cooney (2) between the 53rd and 63rd minutes to losing all sense of composure in the final run-in.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.