Harte attack ends another Tipperary All-Ireland defence as Galway march on

A cracking quarter-final in LIT Gaelic Grounds turned on that fine goal

All-Ireland SHC quarter-final: Galway 3-23 Tipperary 2-24

At this stage, tussles between these two are typecast as terrific but this one had more in common with the 2005 All-Ireland quarter-final than their more recent championship classics.

Back in ’05, the margin was also two as Damien Hayes’ late goal drove a stake through Tipperary’s heart. Here, Tipperary weren’t as comfortable as they had been 15 years ago but they were still ahead until Aidan Harte’s 67th-minute green flag.

Credit to Tipperary, their two-point lead might have looked decidedly flimsy when Cathal Barrett was shown a 53rd-minute red card but they weren’t beaten until the death. They were even two ahead less than a minute before Aidan Harte’s 67th-minute goal. After Paddy Cadell was turned over, substitutes Jason Flynn and Adrian Tuohey switched the attack to the other wing when Harte drove low past Brian Hogan.

“It was a fantastic finish,” said Shane O’Neill. “I think he had three chances that he didn’t convert, but he’s played in midfield and half-forwards at underage. He had a particular job to do today and he did it exceptionally well. He just happened to find himself in that position and it was a brilliant finish.”

The overlap was on the same side of the field where Barrett would have been positioned only for him being dismissed for a second yellow card 14 minutes earlier for pulling across Brian Concannon’s hand.

O’Neill wasn’t as keen on the theory as Liam Sheedy that the red card had a telling impact on the game. “The way the game has gone with all the movement between backs and forwards, sometimes that extra man can be nullified. For example, you saw Aidan Harte up in the forward line. But we tried to get him on the ball and it worked out well.”

Joe Canning’s 11th of 12 frees followed Harte’s goal and when Jason Flynn and Seán Loftus followed a Dan McCormack score the margin was three. A cynical foul on Seamus Callanan gave Hogan a goal chance but his strike was deflected over the bar. Callanan then punished a foul on McCormack to leave the bare minimum between them but Galway’s minds were put at ease when Canning arrowed over a free from distance.

After what the Leinster final demanded of them, Galway should have been leggy but they weren’t then nor in the opening quarter despite conceding a goal to Callanan in the fourth minute when Daithí Burke slipped. A Cathal Mannion goal followed in the 11th minute but Galway’s 1-5 to 1-3 advantage at the first water break did not reflect their dominance. They were bossing puckouts, they were enjoying an embarrassment of space on their left wing and it wasn’t until Tipperary rearranged their defence at that cessation that they righted themselves.

The third goal, courtesy of Concannon in the 19th minute after some deft work by Conor Whelan in the build-up, was another example of how difficult players were finding the underfoot conditions in LIT Gaelic Grounds.

Galway led by three points when Tipperary notched the next five scores, Patrick Maher’s 33rd-minute goal being one of them. After Jake Morris with one hand and Maher were initially denied, Maher made the most of Shane Cooney falling to clear.

Tipperary’s 2-13 to 2-9 half-time lead, while wind-assisted, was flattering. Still, O’Neill felt comfortable. “We weren’t particularly worried. The wind is strong enough when you’re out in the middle of the pitch and we felt that maybe we weren’t as composed as we should have been in the first half but we were a lot more composed on the ball in the second half.”

Taking off All-Stars in David Burke and Johnny Coen were big calls, though, but O’Neill’s sense was they had already put in major shifts. With the wind, the fresher legs of Tuohey and Flynn were evident but Galway’s wide count began to climb. Canning’s frees were keeping things ticking but Tipperary still led by four points in the 50th minute.

A couple of Canning frees before the water break gave Galway some impetus. O’Neill sensed they would always have a chance. “I think there wasn’t going to much of a panic. The wind is strong enough when you’re out in the middle of the pitch. We knew that if we just kept the scoreboard ticking over that we’d be there or thereabouts.”

Barrett’s dismissal made Tipperary’s task extremely onerous. Afterwards, Sheedy bargained with the result considering the circumstances. “Considering a two-point loss against a stiff breeze 20 minutes down a man, you could have been looking at a much greater gap.”

Thirteen different scorers was quite the return for Tipperary but indiscipline was costly. Also, Noel McGrath, so good in the first half with four points, faded out dramatically in the second. In mitigation, Sheedy highlighted the 11 consecutive weeks the McGraths played with Loughmore-Castleiney in the club championship season.

Regarding his team he reasoned: “Fought like champions, went out like champions and really that’s all I can ask. When you’re against a quality side like Galway, it’s always going to be nip and tuck. It’s proven over the years it’s a one-score match every time we meet.

“Galway shaded it on the day but I’d be so proud of how my lads went about their business. They gave me everything and that’s really all you can ask for but we are really disappointed. We were mad keen to progress in this Championship.”

With a third of Saturday’s team 30-plus or about to turn 30, Tipperary’s keenness to strike now was understandable. It shouldn’t be difficult to sell them one more season, which will extend at best to another eight months and a July All-Ireland final, but another title defence has passed them by.

The 60-second report

IT MATTERED:

Aidan Harte’s goal. After Cathal Barrett’s sending off, the opportunity was likely to present itself and the Gort man took it with aplomb.

CAN’T IGNORE...

Liam Sheedy’s post-match comments. He was sore and his point about appointments is a strong one but the integrity of Johnny Murphy was not open to question.

GOOD DAY:

Mentally, Galway will be over the moon to put behind them a Leinster final they should have won. It said so much of their resilience to get back to winning ways seven days later. Whether their bodies will be right for the force that is a rested Limerick this Sunday is another thing.

BAD DAY:

Once again, the back-to-back remains elusive for Tipperary. Beating Galway was twice on their check-list for All-Irelands in the last decade but even if they had won this there were too many leaders out of sorts to think they could go all the way.

PHYSIO ROOM:

Shane O’Neill reported afterwards that none of the changes he made were injury-enforced, Johnny Coen and David Burke making way at half-time for tactical reasons. Freshness will be so important coming into this weekend.

SIDELINE SMARTS:

It was a game of sweepers in the opening half and Tipperary struggled with their shape earlier on, requiring personnel switches around the water break, but they were getting it right coming up to half-time. In the second half and with Galway having the wind, things become more orthodox, which didn’t seem to favour either team all that much until the sending off when Joe Cooney was used as the spare man.

BEST ON SHOW:

Cathal Mannion took his first-half goal so well and tore into the second half. Daithí Burke looked comfortable and Joe Canning was a presence outside of his deadball skills. For Tipperary, Barry Heffernan and Michael Breen battled valiantly.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE:

It’s difficult to believe Murphy was the root of Tipperary’s demise when he was extremely fair in the second half and Jake Morris could have been dismissed for a second yellow in the first half. A couple of peculiar calls but not too much out of the ordinary.

NEXT UP:

Galway play their third game in 22 days when they face Limerick in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.

Scorers for Galway: J Canning (0-14, 12 frees, 1 sideline); C Mannion (1-3); B Concannon, A Harte (1-0 each); J Cooney, J Coen, C Cooney, C Whelan, J Flynn, S Loftus (0-1 each).

Scorers for Tipperary: J Forde (0-6, 5 frees); N McGrath (0-4); S Callanan (1-2, 0-1 free); Patrick Maher (1-0); A Flynn, M Breen, D McCormack (0-2 each); J Morris, N O’Meara, B Heffernan, W Connors, R Maher (free), B Hogan (free) (0-1 each).

GALWAY: E Murphy; A Harte, Daithí Burke, S Cooney; F Burke, G McInerney, J Cooney; P Mannion, J Coen; J Canning, C Mannion, David Burke; C Whelan, C Cooney, B Concannon.

Subs for Galway: A Tuohey for David Burke, J Flynn for J Coen (both h-t); S Loftus for F Burke, E Niland for C Cooney (both 58); D Morrissey for S Cooney (70+1).

TIPPERARY: B Hogan; C Barrett, B Maher, R Maher; Pádraic Maher, N O’Meara, B Heffernan; A Flynn, M Breen; D McCormack, N McGrath, Patrick Maher; J Forde, S Callanan, J Morris.

Subs for Tipperary: W Connors for Patrick Maher (50); J McGrath for N McGrath (53); P Cadell for N O’Meara (59); P Flynn for J Forde (65); M Kehoe for D McCormack (70+3).

Sent off: C Barrett (53, second yellow).

Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).