Dublin 2-25 Galway 2-13: Dublin won their first Leinster hurling title since 1961 in great style with a 2-25 to 2-13 victory over Galway.
On a boiling hot day at Croke Park, they were comfortably the better side and fully deserved to take the Bob O'Keeffe Cup. Two Paul Ryan goals, one in each half, sent them on their way and they put on an exhibition of point-scoring to see them home.
It was Dublin’s fifth game in as many weeks but if anything their over-loaded schedule seemed a help rather than a hindrance. Right from the start, they were quicker to the ball and sharper in possession.
After a cagey opening 10 minutes, they strung together five points on the spin. It was a measure of how up for the day they were that the points came from five different sources and all from play.
Ryan O'Dwyer, Dotsy O'Callaghan, Joey Boland, Conal Keaney and Ryan himself opened up a gap that Galway never closed. When Ryan slammed home his first goal on 24 minutes, it put Dublin 1-10 to 0-5 ahead. The sides traded points before the break and when Joe Canning scored the first two of the second half, it brought Galway to within six points at 1-12 to 0-9.
But that was Dublin's cue to press the accelerator and Ryan responded with 1-2 inside three minutes. A Michael Carton point from 70 yards put Dublin 2-15 to 0-9 ahead on 43 minutes and really there was no way back for Galway.
They kept at it though and excellent goals from Canning and David Burke kept them within shouting distance.
But with Keaney and Ryan in exceptional form, Dublin never let the gap get any smaller than six points. Gary Maguire made an outstanding save from Canning 10 minutes from the end to keep it that way and from there, Dublin slung over points for fun all the way to the end.
