Lively Galway offer hope for bigger hurdles ahead

Galway 3-16

Tipperary 1-19

Those nuggets of positive offerings evident in recent games were moulded into a display of some substance as Galway hit Tipperary for three goals in the opening half to secure two precious National Hurling League points at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

It would be naïve to say the Galway management and players were not under a measure of pressure following back-to-back defeats to Waterford and Kilkenny heading into this pivotal home fixture against Tipperary, a team they had not beaten since 2007.

Tipp, too, were a side struggling with form of late but when their starting line-out was released – it was arguably their strongest team to date – it was clear that they were coming to Salthill with only victory on the mind. The intensity of their warm-up certainly served to underline that view.

Yet, games are not won in warm-ups and when Galway emerged from their pre-match preparations they showed the greater intent with Niall Healy (2) and David Burke (sideline cut) landing three points in as many minutes.

They could also have benefitted from an error from Tipperary goalkeeper Darren Gleeson in the second minute when he spilled possession from a Conor Cooney free, but there was no Galway jersey on hand to knock the sliotar to the net.

In any event, Galway continued to hold the upper-hand in the opening quarter to lead 0-7 to 0-4 as Cooney (free), the wily Healy and rampaging midfielder Padraig Brehony (2) tallied a litany of fine scores to keep a wind-assisted Tipperary at arm’s length.

A lapse in the collective concentration – and Galway were prone to these, no more so than in the last 13 minutes when they were outscored by 1-4 to 0-1 – allowed Noel McGrath and Seamus Callanan in for two efforts within a minute to reduce the gap to a single point.

However, on 20 minutes, one of the best Galway moves of the league saw Healy net a super goal. A Colm Callanan puck-out was caught by Cooney who found Brehony. He picked-out David Burke who set up Healy for a quality finish. The goal ignited the Tribesmen.

Cathal Mannion shot a fine point for a Galway outfit on the move shortly after and while John O’Dwyer and substitute Kieran Bergin, with his first touch, responded for Tipperary, the Tribesmen clearly had more method to their game and duly bagged a second goal six minutes later.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.