Senior Hurlers lose out to Galway in Allianz NHL clash

DUBLIN 1-15

GALWAY 1-23

It proved a disappointing afternoon for Dublin as they were beaten by Galway by eight points in their ill-tempered Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B encounter in Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

A strong third-quarter saw Dublin restore parity by the 48^th minute but the dismissal of Ronan Hayes four minutes later saw them unravel from that juncture, suffering twenty-four minutes of scoreless play in the process.

After their heavy loss to LImerick in Round 3, Dublin would have looked for a more encouraging showing and they duly delivered in the first-half with a Dónal Burke penalty in the 21^st minute seeing them trail by just two points (1-10 to 1-8) by the interval.

The influential Burke and Cian O’Sullivan continued to show well upon the restart, leaving the teams deadlocked at 1-14 apiece, but the longer the contest evolved, the more control Galway exerted as they reeled off ten points on the bounce to record an ultimately comfortable win, despite finishing the game with just twelve players.

After falling behind in the opening minute, the Dubs levelled matters in the 3^rd minute through late replacement Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing but it proved an isolated moment of positivity in the early stages.

The hosts reeled off three points on the bounce, despite playing into a typically strong breeze in Salthill, with Joseph Cooney catching the eye for Galway with an impressive showing from placed balls.

Dublin gradually clawed their way back into contention following consecutive scores by Dónal Burke (free) and Cian O’Sullivan and the St Brigid’s played doubled his tally in the 14^th minute to leave the bare minimum between the sides.

However, Galway struck back in emphatic fashion in the 17^th minute with Cooney heavily involved once again and his clever pass allowed Conor Whelan the time and space to hammer home beyond the helpless Eddie Gibbons.

Dublin’s reply to this setback was relatively instant as Burke casually found the corner from a penalty after Fintan Burke had impeded O’Sullivan, with the Galway defender receiving a black card for his troubles.

The visitors availed of their numerical advantage and the breeze to hit four unanswered points in as many minutes with a brace from Burke augmented by fine scores from Conor Donohoe and Ronan Hayes.

However, Galway regrouped well as they returned to their full complement and they struck a trio of scores of their own to lead by two points at the turnaround.

After a fairly physical and heavy-hitting half, Dublin resumed brightly with Burke halving Dublin’s deficit in the 38^th minute and a contested O’Sullivan score a minute later saw the teams return to parity.

When Jack Grealish received a second yellow in the 44^th minute, hopes of an away victory grew, especially with Burke popping two quick-fire points to edge his team in front.

Tom Monaghan replied at the opposite end for Galway and the tightness of the exchanges continued as Dónal Burke and David Burke exchanged points to leave the contest delicately poised.

The dismissal of Hayes in the 52^nd minute proved pivotal in terms of momentum as Galway regained the initiative soon after thanks to points by Conor Cooney and Cianan Fahy.

A straight red card received by Whelan for an off-the-ball incident in the 65^th minute failed to stall Galway’s scoring as Cooney fired over five further frees, even with Daithí Burke also shown the line deep into added time.

Scorers – Dublin: D Burke 1-9 (1-0 pen, 0-6f, 0-2 ‘65’), C O’Sullivan 0-3, C Donohoe, D Ó Dúlaing, R Hayes 0-1 apiece. Galway: C Cooney 0-11 (10f), T Monaghan 0-4, J Cooney 0-3, C Whelan 1-0, G Lee 0-2, C Fahy, David Burke, C Mannion 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: E Gibbons; J Madden, P Smyth, D Gray; C Burke, C Crummey, C Donohoe; D Power, B Hayes; S Currie, R Hayes, D Burke; D Sutcliffe, C O’Sullivan, D Ó Dúlaing. Subs: M Grogan for Gray (23), F Whitely for Sutcliffe (49), D Purcell for Ó Dúlaing (56), P Crummey for Currie (62), S Gallagher for Power (67).

Galway: D Fahy; J Grealish, F Burke, P Mannion; A Tuohey; C Fahy, Dáithí Burke; David Burke, S Linnane; G Lee, T Monaghan, S Cooney; C Cooney, C Whelan, J Flynn. Subs: B Concannon for Flynn (43), C Mannion for Lee (55), R Glennon for David Burke (60), E Niland for J Cooney (64), D O’Shea for Linnane (67).

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).