All-Ireland SFC Group 2, round one
Galway 0-16 Tyrone 0-13
THEY made hard work of it but Galway got off to a winning start in this year's All-Ireland SFC as they just managed to keep 14-man Tyrone at arm's length at a wet and dreary Pearse Stadium.
Frank Burn’s dismissal midway through the first half meant the visitors were a man short for the majority of this one and were even down to 13 for a spell before the break after Niall Morgan was black-carded, but they doggedly kept with Galway for the duration.
The home side huffed and puffed as they attempted to pull clear but it took crucial points from the likes of Paul Conroy, Cillian McDaid and Damien Comer to make sure that the Tribesmen finally got over the line.
“Performance-wise, it probably wasn’t anywhere near our best, to be honest,” admitted Pádraic Joyce at full-time.
“We just lacked a bit of intent and a bit of urgency in the first half. We never really got the crowd involved, it was a frustrating kind of performance. We left Tyrone in the game and on a wet day, anything could have happened. But look, any day you beat a Division One team by three points in the Championship, you’ll be happy enough.”
At this stage, Tyrone fans must wonder if it ever stops raining in Galway. After a couple of trips to a sodden Tuam Stadium in the League in recent years, the Red Hand faithful were surely looking forward to a sun-kissed Saturday evening in Salthill but the heavens opened half an hour before throw-in.
If that didn’t fully put paid to hopes of a seaside shoot-out between the likes of Comer, Shane Walsh, Darragh Canavan and Darren McCurry, the sending off of Burns in the 19th minute certainly did.
Three points from Walsh had helped Galway into a 0-5 to 0-3 lead by that stage before Burns was shown red for a badly judged shoulder on Jack Glynn which caught the Galway defender square on the jaw and ended his involvement for the evening, as well as that of Burns.
Peter Harte was forced to don the goalkeeper’s jersey a few minutes later when Niall Morgan was shown a black card by David Gough for verbal dissent but Galway failed to make their extra numbers count before the break, adding just two points while Tyrone were down to 13-men.
There were just three between the sides at the break, 0-7 to 0-4, and while Galway should have pulled away at the beginning of the second half, some poor shooting kept Tyrone in touch.
Two frees from Darren McCurry and Darragh Canavan had the Ulster side within a point, 0-8 to 0-7, after 45 minutes but, crucially, Galway got the next two through Walsh and Matthew Tierney.
That pattern continued until the end with McCurry, who kicked seven points in total, Conor Meyler and Peter Harte getting scores to narrow the gap for Tyrone but Galway always seemed to come up with a reply when it really mattered.
“We just needed a break to pull level,” said Feargal Logan afterwards.
“We got it to a point or so but we just couldn’t get level. Even at the end, we thought we might have snuck in a goal but it didn’t happen and that’s life.”
That goal never really looked like coming though and Paul Conroy and substitute Cathal Sweeney were instrumental in carrying the Tribesmen forward in the difficult conditions as points from Rob Finnerty, Shane Walsh and Damien Comer meant Galway always had their noses in front during the final 10 minutes.
Galway: C Gleeson; J Glynn, S Kelly, J McGrath; D McHugh, J Daly, C McDaid (0-2); P Conroy (0-2), J Maher; M Tierney (0-1), J Heaney (0-1), P Cooke (0-2); I Burke, D Comer (0-1), S Walsh (0-6, 0-2fs):
Subs: C Sweeney for J Glynn (19), R Finnerty (0-1) for D McHugh (35+3), T Culhane for I Burke (HT), C Hernon for J Maher (49).
Tyrone: N Morgan; M McKernan, P Hamspey, R McNamee, C Meyler (0-1), C Quinn (0-1), P Harte (0-1); B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; F Burns, M O’Neill, J Oguz; D McCurry (0-7, 0-5 frees), M Donnelly (0-1), D Canavan (0-2f).
Subs: S O’Donnell for J Oguz (49), N Devlin for M O’Neill (56), K McGeary for S O’Donnell (57-60, blood), M McGleenan for R McNamee (65). R Canavan for D Canavan (70).
Referee: D Gough (Meath).
ENDS
