Late Harte strike seals the deal for Tribesmen in a cracker

Galway 3-23

Tipperary 2-24

TRUST in Galway hurling teams has often been in short supply down through the years and there was no shortage of local pessimism ahead of their All-Ireland quarter-final against Tipperary at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday.

That mood was the legacy of Galway’s late troubles in the previous weekend’s Leinster Final when letting the Bob O’Keeffe Cup slip from their grasp. It left the men in maroon with plenty to sort out and lots to prove for their latest big championship collision with Tipperary.

And though the Tribesmen wobbled at time before eventually getting over the line, they manged to complete the perfect rehabilitation in the space of a week with defender Aidan Harte emerging as the unlikely match-winning goal scoring hero.

Galway were far from perfect – notably enduring a bad finish to the opening-half when outscored by 1-5 to 0-1 and struggling to exploit Tipperary’s numerical disadvantage over the closing 20-plus minutes – but the result was everything and the 2017 champions did enough good things to carry the day.

It represented Galway’s third triumph over Tipperary from their four last championship battles and will leave them in great heart for a potentially riveting semi-final against title favourites at Croke Park on Sunday.

There was no crowd, no atmosphere or big-match trimmings in Limerick, but the bleak surroundings didn’t prevent these great rivals from serving up another absorbing contest which ultimately probably swung on Cathal Barrett’s dismissal for a late challenge on Brian Concannon in the 52nd minute.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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