Leinster SHC: Dublin 3-15 Galway 0-29
Galway made their history at a packed Parnell Park on Sunday with a very first championship win away against Dublin.
The match itself was a more prosaic affair and the home team at no stage looked likely to maintain their pristine record in the fixture.
Former Dublin manager Micheál Donoghue returned to the capital with Galway and comfortably achieved the victory. They dominated the puck-outs and their forwards were sharper and more accurate. Even the five-point margin was illusory, as a more reflective scoreline was undermined by the concession of a couple of injury-time goals.
Dublin had the advantage of a strong wind in the first half but failed to harness it after a particularly poor start when their accuracy was askew. Trying to harness the elements, they attempted several long-range scores but ended up with eight wides and a couple dropped short.
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Similarly, the tactic of going long into the forwards foundered on Galway’s disinclination to break formation and none of the intended recipients, primarily John Hetherton, were able to take clean possession.
Galway went unfussily about their business. Their own accuracy wasn’t perfect but in-form Cathal Mannion was flawless from frees and influential in play and Brian Concannon was also a constant threat. By the 17th minute they led 0-6 to 0-1.
Dublin found a response. Rian McBride scored a goal after a good run by Seán Currie. Points followed – Dublin even briefly led – and by half-time, the teams were level, 0-10 to 1-7.
More troubling for Dublin was that nobody would have said at the start that parity would be a good half-time outcome, having played with the breeze. They might have also had a man advantage but referee Colm Lyons took a lenient view of Daithi Burke’s 26th-minute clattering of Conor Burke.
As the cliche has it, the wind won’t score the points for you and Galway still had to make it count, which they duly did. Their shooting was excellent, converting three-quarters of their chances, the precision dropping only towards the end when the contest was well won.
Conor Whelan came strongly into the match in his new half-forward role, Concannon’s torment of the Dublin backs continued and Tom Monaghan chipped in from centrefield. The late scores were just a gloss.
In the 69th minute, Currie drove a free into the net and minutes later, Conal Ó Riain was on hand to scramble in a third. The result was in no way threatened and Galway progress to play Kilkenny in the Leinster final, an outcome that they would have happily grasped after losing the same fixture so dismally in April.
“The wind was a massive factor,” said Donoghue afterwards. “We had to lock it down as much as we could. I thought that probably gave us the platform to go in the game. We were happy enough with where we were at half-time, probably not too happy with the way we conceded the goal.
“Then obviously with the strength of the wind, we could push up on their puck-outs, force them to go long and I thought in the first 15 minutes we obviously dominated and that was reflected on the scoreboard but I think equally you can see the experience and for the last couple of minutes (in the second half), Dublin showed the quality and took their goals really well but we’d be really disappointed with the way we conceded those goals.”
“It just illustrates the work we still have to do with the lads and the inexperience that’s still there. Look, for us, it’s been a really good trajectory over the last couple of weeks and we’re just glad we’re going into a Leinster final. It will give less experienced fellas the chance to be involved in a Leinster final and that can only be good for them as they move forward as players.”
Ó Ceallacháin was disappointed with probably the worst performance of the campaign.
“I think we had a lot of joy from a certain way of playing over the last few weeks and that has been off second ball, off primary ball, to the forward line. That didn’t happen in that first half. Their half back line sat a lot of the time and often they had an extra body to that break. When it was there, it seemed that they came out every time.
“At the same time, it didn’t look like we had lads in pockets either that were free all the time. We need to look back at that and look why. As we stand here, I’m not 100 per cent sure why.”
He was unsure whether leading forward Dónal Burke would be available for the preliminary quarter-final against either of the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists, Kildare or Laois.
DUBLIN: S Brennan; P Smyth, C McHugh, J Bellew; C Donohoe (0-1), C Crummey (0-1), P Doyle (0-1); C Burke, B Hayes (0-1); R McBride (1-1), C O’Sullivan (0-3), D Power; S Currie (1-6, 1-4f), J Hetherton, A Jamieson-Murphy (0-1).
Subs: R Hayes for Murphy (46 mins), C Currie for Power (51), D Lucey for Bellew (55), F Whitely for Burke (58), C Ó Riain (1-0) for Doyle (68, temp) and for B Hayes (70).
GALWAY: D Fahy; P Mannion, F Burke, Daithi Burke; C Fahy (0-2), G Lee, TJ Brennan (0-1); David Burke (0-3), S Linnane (0-1); J Fleming, T Monaghan (0-4), C Whelan (0-3); B Concannon (0-5), C Mannion (0-8f), A Burns (0-1).
Subs: C Cooney (0-1) for Fleming (22-25 mins, temp), J Grealish for Daithi Burke (48), Cooney for Burns, T Killeen for Fleming (both 60).
Referee: C Lyons (Cork).
