Galway halted Dubs with a superior grade of football

Galway 0-15 Dublin 0-7

In brief, John O’Mahony’s team controlled midfield for the greater part of the game and possessed too much power for Dublin at both ends of the field to be seriously troubled at any stage. More particularly, senior stars Joe Bergin and Matthew Clancy performed roles that their counterparts on the Dublin side could never match, with Bergin truly inspirational in his role as captain.

Dublin made a confident enough start and seemed comfortable in defence in early raids. But very soon it became evident that Galway had more to offer, in their ability to win more possession and the manner in which they were able to use it in attack. In simple terms they moved the ball about quickly and accurately and the quality of their attack meant that they were able to come near to maximising their scoring opportunities.

Minor star Michael Meehan, who won’t be 18 until December, had them in front after a mere 45 seconds and by the 8th minute they were enjoying a three point lead. Deploying himself and Nicholas Joyce in the corners and playing John Devane outfield, they made steady progress once Joe Bergin and Kieran Comer started to assert themselves at midfield. Comer was marking Dublin senior Darren Magee and was winning a lot of good ball and at different stages both he and Bergin joined in attacking movements to very good effect.

Dublin were starting to struggle for possession and specifically, there was little or no ball going into their forwards. It meant that senior star Alan Brogan had few opportunities to try for scores and he was even more limited by the fact that Michael Comer was doing a very effective job of policing him.

While Dublin threatened a goal in the 9th minute - when Brogan put Declan Lally through and his shot was smothered by ‘keeper David Morris - it represented one of the few times they looked like scoring in the opening 20 minutes. Back in defence they were being subjected to fairly continuous pressure and this increased as Bergin and Comer strengthened their grip. In turn, their work was complemented by the strong play of the Galway half-backs and by the general covering of the defence, with Kieran Fitzgerald another steadying force at full-back. Up front, Matthew Clancy was hugely influential and Meehan was a constant threat in the right corner.

The net effect was that Galway were confidently in control of the game before the Leinster champions had what was to prove their only score of the half - through Brogan in the 25th minute. While it represented a poor return for their efforts, the reality was that such was the dominance that Galway were enjoying, manager Tommy Lyons could have expected little more. At the break it was 0-8 to 0-1.

Dublin hinted at a recovery in the opening ten minutes when they scored three points to Galway’s one. Playing more aggressively in attack and benefiting in time from several substitutions, they looked like making headway until Bergin got back on top and kicked a vital score in the 45th minute. It wasn’t quite the end of the road for Dublin, because they managed to create more pressure in attack than they had done all through the opening half, but effectively there was just no way back for them.

Dublin’s forwards suffered from a continuing poor service at midfield - with Darren Magee no match for Bergin despite all his hard work. Additionally, the quality of ball coming into the forwards was quite poor at times and to add to their frustrations, the Galway half-backs ‘read’ the play cleverly and regularly broke up attacking movements.

Over the course of the final quarter the winners produced some marvellous football. It was vintage Galway, at its purest and best and Dublin just were not at the races.

*Donegal referee Michael McGrath did an excellent job of refereeing. He was always well up with the play and kept his mistakes to the absolute minimum.

Scorers for Galway - M. Meehan 0-5 (0-1 free); J. Bergin 0-3; K. Comer (0-1 free), M. Clancy and D. O’Brien 0-2 each; N. Joyce 0-1.

Dublin: L. Og O hEineachain 0-2; T. Quinn 0-2 (0-1 free, 0-1 fifty); A. Brogan, D. O’Mahony and G. Smyth 0-1 each.

GALWAY: D. Morris; C. Monaghan, K. Fitzgerald, M. Comer; K. Brady, D. Blake, R. Murray; J. Bergin (capt.), K. Comer; D. Burke, M. Clancy, D. O’Brien; M. Meehan, N. Joyce, J. Devane. Subs: D. Hanley for Burke (40th).

DUBLIN: S. Cluxton; N. Kane, D. Corcoran, P. Griffin; P. Casey, B. Cullen, N. O’Driscoll; C. Murphy, D. Magee; L. Og O hEineachain, C. Keaney, D. Lally; A. Brogan, G. Cullen, T. Quinn. Subs: D. O’Callaghan for Keaney (36th minute); D. O’Mahony for Cullen (37th); S. Walsh for Corcoran (40th); M. Lyons for Nally (48th); G. Smith for Murphy (52nd).

Referee: M. McGrath (Donegal).

*The trophy was presented team captain Joe Bergin by Munster Council Chairman Christy Cooney, who deputised for Association President Sean McCague.

*The attendance was 17,000.