Galway dealt harsh blow

Date Published: 22-Aug-2012

Tipperary 2-16

Galway 1-14

John McIntyre at Croke Park

THE persuasive wisdom was that Galway wouldn’t have won anyway, but whatever chance the reigning minor hurling champions had of successfully overcoming a difficult All-Ireland semi-final hurdle in Croke Park on Sunday was dealt a fatal blow by an unfathomable and controversial refereeing call midway through the second-half.

Though three points behind a slicker Tipperary outfit and struggling to stay in contention, Galway were far from a busted flush until Offaly official Tony Carroll handed out an outrageous second yellow card to team captain Paul Killeen after an aerial tangle with influential opposition substitute Sean Maher in the 44th minute.

At worst, it appeared a marginal free against the defiant Galway full back as he prevented Maher from following up an over hit delivery, but there was shock all over the GAA’s hallowed ground when Carroll flashed a yellow card at Killeen, who had already been booked in the opening-half.

The Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry clubman was undoubtedly an unfortunate victim of a miscarriage of justice, but that will be no consolation to a disappointed Galway camp whose hopes of setting up a final collision against Dublin were completely dashed there and then.

Their 14 men continued to battle honourably to the end, but the odds were stacked against their outnumbered attack in the final quarter as the classy Munster champions were now just doing enough to keep Galway at bay in a high quality encounter between two above average teams at this level.

Even before they pucked a ball in this year’s championship, big things were expected of the young Tribesmen and they hardly disappointed against moderate Wexford opponents in the All-Ireland quarter-final, but Sunday’s battle with Tipperary was always going to represent a marked step up in class and even before Killeen’s extremely harsh dismissal, the most compelling evidence suggested that they would fall short.

Mind you, Galway had got off to a cracking opening when Jason Flynn, who started at full forward, was on the end of a defence-splitting move involving Brian Murtagh and Brian Molloy to flash his ground stroke past Tipperary goalkeeper Paul Maher after only three minutes.

Molloy had already registered a neatly struck point as Galway were quick into their stride but, worryingly, an unfazed Tipperary soon recovered and had gone two in front by the ninth minute with their goal an opportunist flick from the lively Stephen Cahill, who just got to a long clearance from Barry Heffernan ahead of advancing Galway goalkeeper Maidhc Ó Conghaile.

The elegant Heffernan, at wing back, was mopping up a lot of ball for Tipperary and also landed a mighty long range point in the seventh minute, but the Galway mentors made a telling move by switching Ronan O’Meara out the field and the Portumna player quickly made his presence felt with a couple of neatly struck points before half-time.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.