Galway’s twin terrors tear Cork apart

Galway 0-17 Cork 1-11

From the throw in, there seemed no stopping Galway who stormed into an 0-8 to 0-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

They were aided by the magnificent strike force of Michael Meehan and Sean Armstrong who destroyed the Cork full back line early on , the former scoring six and the latter two.

There wouldn’t have been a defence in Ireland capable of containing the deadly duo and while corner back Frank Tobin was the only player to be replaced, at least two more could have suffered a similar fate.

The Gaelic Grounds was throbbing. The Galway fans were in full voice and Cork looked like being overwhelmed. Yet in their first real attack Daniel Goulding scored a stunning goal when he first-timed Michael Murphy’s pass to the roof of the net.

It served notice that Galway weren’t going to get all their own way and it helped to turn this into one of the best games I’ve seen in years.

Galway’s half time lead of 0-11 to 1-4 was manageable for Cork in the second half, and in an admirable show or resilience, the Munster champions ran riot before eventually drawing level at 0-13 to 1-10 after 55 minutes. So clearly in control, it was almost impossible to see them failing.

However, with extra time looming, Sean Armstrong conjured up two moments of magic to land excellent points to send Galway safely into next Saturday’s final against Down.

Understandably, their manager Peter Ford was a very relieved man to hear the final whistle, and graciously acknowledged that his side were fortunate at the finish.

“We were lucky to get away with the win in the end. I could not have asked for a better start to an All-Ireland final and we seemed to be coasting along, ” he said. “Not unexpectedly Cork hit us for 1-1 in quick succession and that lead was down to the four points we held to half time. I had seen Cork in the Munster final and knew just how potent their attack was. It didn’t surprise me one bit the way they took control of the game in the second-half, particularly up front.

“They completely dominated us and we were hanging on for dear life for most of it. They won an amount of possession from breaking ball and had us on the back foot for long periods.

“When they finally drew level it looked as if the game had gone from us, but all credit to the lads they hung in there and got the last two scores which clinched it for us.

“We had gone into the match without any real test and really didn’t know our capabilities. We certainly know now what we are capable of after that fantastic game. Cork really put it up to us and we responded superbly.

“It’s all about winning when you reach this stage of a championship, and I’m very relieved that we managed to pull through in the end. It certainly didn’t look like with 10 minutes to go.”

Galway’s dominance of midfield through Niall Coleman and Barry Cullinane in the first half meant Cork were under enormous pressure but there was a gradual improvement around the middle by the Leesiders as Patrick Kelly in particular began to pick up a lot of loose ball.

A half-time lead of four points was a poor return for the amount of first half possession by Galway and they had an amazing escape in the 47th minute as a Cork pile-driver by Fintan Goold thundered against the crossbar and Daniel Goulding fisted the rebound wide.

A goal at that juncture and the Leesiders would surely have won it. While they continued to storm the Galway goal and eventually drew level after Goulding kicked a great equalising point from a difficult angled free, the Connacht champions weathered the storm to reach their first final in three years.

“It’s all about starting well,” said Cork coach Tony Leahy, “and we got the worst possible start. Most teams would have died after such a disastrous start but we can hold our heads up high for the manner in which we battled to the end.”

Scorers for Galway: M. Meehan 0-8 (0-4 frees, 0-1 45); S. Armstrong 0-7; S. Breathnach, B. Faherty 0-1 each.

Cork: D. Goulding 1-3 (0-3 frees); J. Hayes 0-4 (0-2 frees); F. Goold 0-2 (0-1 free); P. Kelly, P. Kerrigan 0-1 each.

GALWAY: M. Killilea; A. Burke, F. Hanley, M. Flannery; D. Mullahy, N. Coyne, G. Sice; N. Coleman, B. Cullinane; C. de Paor, D. Dunleavy, F. Breathnach; M. Meehan, C. Blake, S. Armstrong.

Subs: B. Faherty for de Paor; A. Glynn for Dunleavy; J. Murphy for Mullahy; C. Duffy for Sice; M. Feeney for Coyne.

CORK: K. O’Halloran; F. Tobin, D. Og O’Donovan, A. Tanner; D. Limrick, D. Cunningham, E. Cadogan; A. O’Connor, P. Kelly; F. Goold, J. Hayes, P. Kerrigan; D. Goulding, P. O’Flynn, M. Murphy.

Subs: S. O’Donoghue for Tobin; G. Leahy for Murphy.

Referee: T. Quigley (Wexford)