Galway beat Dublin in the SHC quarter-final
Monday 29 May 2017 20:01, UK
The dismissal early in the second-half of defender Cian O' Callaghan was a massive blow to Dublin's hopes of staging an upset in this Leinster Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final which Galway won by 2-28 to 1-17.
Dublin kept the game alive until the third quarter but could not find a way back when O'Callaghan picked up a second yellow card and Galway used the extra man to pull away and set up a Leinster semi-final meeting with Offaly.
It was only Galway's second ever senior championship win over Dublin in seven meetings, with ten players hitting the target as Micheal Donoghue's men got their campaign up and running.
The Tribesmen only led by 1-10 to 1-7 at the end of the half-time after a competitive opening half in front of a crowd of 14,316 in perfect conditions.
Dublin gave themselves hope when they struck for a goal just before the interval when Ben Quinn finished low to the net.
The Dubs got a good start with an effort from Chris Crummey after three minutes but Galway took over from there and shot four in a row in a six minute spell with Joe Canning, Jason Flynn, David Burke and Conor Whelan hitting good scores for the league champions.
Dublin responded well to the challenge with Eamon Dillon, Shane Barrett and Donal Burke levelling the match at 0-4 each after 16 minutes.
David Treacy edged them in front but they were guilty of some wayward shooting and Galway responded to the challenge with four points without reply with Cathal Mannion, David Burke, Canning and Conor Cooney pushing them 0-8 to 0-5 in the lead.
The sides continued to exchange points before Galway struck a telling blow when Dublin goalkeeper Conor Dooley did well to block an effort from Joseph Cooney but Jason Flynn finished the rebound to the net with a ground strike after 28 minutes.
He should have added another three minutes from the break after being set up by a superb pass from Canning but his effort flew over the bar, with Dublin hitting back with Quinn's goal before the break.
Galway stretched their lead to six with three unanswered points in the opening five minutes of the second-half.
And any hopes of a Dublin revival disappeared when O'Callaghan was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card when he was adjudged to have tripped Joseph Cooney.
Galway extended their lead to seven before Eamon Dillon got Dublin's opening point of the second-half but they were unable to mount a serious comeback.
Conor Cooney put the issue beyond doubt when he scored their second goal after 54 minutes and both sides emptied their substitutes' benches in the closing quarter.
But Galway kept outscoring Dublin with Joe Canning, Conor Whelan and Conor Cooney a constant threat and they will now be red-hot favourites to advance to the Leinster final when they meet Offaly on June 18, while Dublin will be hoping for a favourable draw in the qualifiers to keep their summer alive.
Galway: C Callanan; A Touhy, Daithi Burke, P Killeen; P Mannion, G McInerney, A Harte; J Coen, J Canning (0-9, 0-5f); J Flynn (1-2), David Burke (0-3), C Whelan (0-5); J Cooney (0-1), C Cooney (1-3), C Mannion (0-1).
Subs: J Hanbury for Killeen (25), N Burke (0-2) for C Cooney (57), S Loftus for Coen (62), T Monaghan (0-1) for C Mannion (62), E Burke (0-1) for David Burke (67).
Dublin: C Dooley; C O'Callaghan, E O'Donnell, O Gough; C Crummey (0-2), L Rushe, S Barrett (0-1); N McMorrow, S Moran; D Treacy (0-5, 0-4f), B Quinn (1-0), E Conroy; R O'Dwyer, E Dillon (0-2), D Burke (0-3, 0-2f).
Subs: R McBride (0-1) for Conroy (36), F Whitely (0-1) for Treacy (51), J Malone for McMorrow (60), J Hetherton (0-2, 0-1f) for O'Dwyer (65), D O'Callaghan for Burke (65).
