Senior Hurlers draw with Galway in Leinster SHC clash

DUBLIN 2-22 

GALWAY 1-25 

Dublin’s hopes of advancing to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final were dashed at a sun-kissed Croke Park on Sunday afternoon as they played out a thrilling draw with Galway in their Round 5 encounter.

The Dubs played exceptionally well in the first-half, dictating matters from the outset, with goals from Cian O’Sullivan and Danny Sutcliffe prompting a more than healthy ten point interval advantage.

However, with the increasingly strong wind at their backs, Galway fought their way back into contention, eroding their deficit completely before edging in front in injury time before Donal Burke calmly converted a late free to earn a deserved share of the spoils for Dublin.

The hosts started in an energetic manner through early points by Burke and Mark Grogan and the latter could well have netted when finding space behind the Galway full-back line but for a smart save from Éanna Murphy.

Cian O’Sullivan and Burke added points with Galway keeping in touch through the impressive Joseph Cooney but Dublin were buoyed massively in the 9^th minute as O’Sullivan’s innocuous shot dropped almost apologetically into the top corner of the Galway net.

Dublin were finding alarming space around the middle third, culminating in points from Daire Gray, Danny Sutcliffe and Eoghan O’Donnell as the half evolved with Cooney and Evan Niland briefly stalling Dublin’s momentum with scores at the opposite end.

That cessation was brief as the hosts continued to control matters with scores by O’Donnell, Conor Donohoe and Burke reflecting that supremacy and they were further boosted when they netted for the second occasion in the 28^th minute.

Some battling work by the forwards placed pressure on the away defence and Sutcliffe showed great awareness and anticipation to intercept an ill-advised cross-field ball before calmly rounding Murphy and tapping home.

The sides traded scores for the remainder of the half with Cian Boland adding two points to leave his side well placed at 2-16 to 0-12 by the turnaround.

Dublin pushed their lead out to twelve points within five minutes of the resumption through Burke and Boland with Sutcliffe adding a superb score in the 43^rd minute to keep his side on the front foot.

However, in the energy sapping conditions, Dublin’s efforts began to wane, and they were indebted to goalkeeper Sean Brennan in the 49^th minute, who extended himself superbly to his right to repel Conor Cooney’s penalty following a foul by Conor Burke on Brian Concannon.

Galway kept their scoreboard ticking over however and their goal arrived two minutes later as Dáithi Burke joined the attack to telling effect, crashing home via the helmet of Brennan from close range.

A Donal Burke free briefly brought some respite to Dublin but Galway were relentless at this stage with Niland, Jordan Flynn and Cooney all on target before Niland’s free in the 68^th minute brought the teams level.

The visitors edged in front a minute later with Burke restoring parity in the opening minute of injury time and while Niland restored Galway’s narrow lead, Burke proved Dublin’s saviour with a calm and precise free from under the Hogan Stand.

Scorers – Dublin: D Burke 0-10 (6f, 1 ’65), D Sutcliffe 1-2, C O’Sullivan 1-1, C Boland 0-3, E O’Donnell 0-2, C Burke, C Donohoe, D Gray, M Grogan 0-1 apiece. Galway: E Niland 0-10 (6f), J Cooney 0-5, D Burke 1-0, T Monaghan, K Cooney 0-3 each, E Murphy (f), F Burke, R Glennon, J Flynn 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: S Brennan; J Bellew, E O’Donnell, P Smyth; P Doyle, C Burke, D Gray; M Grogan, C Donohoe; D Sutcliffe, C O’Leary, C Boland; S Currie, C O’Sullivan, D Burke. Subs: A Considine for O’Leary (56), D Purcell for O’Sullivan (64), P Crummey for Boland (67), J Madden for Donohoe (68), F Whitely for Grogan (72).

Galway: E Murphy; TJ Brennan, G McInerney, D Morrissey; P Mannion, D Burke, F Burke; J Cooney, R Glennon; C Cooney, T Monaghan, E Niland; K Cooney, C Whelan, D McLoughlin. Subs: B Concannon for McLoughlin (half-time), J Grealish for Brennan (half-time), S Linnane for F Burke (43), J Flynn for Glennon (49), L Collins for C Cooney (64).

Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow)