Player ratings: Tom Morrissey and Gearoid Hegarty inspire Limerick to December final
Limerick's Gearoid Hegarty celebrates with Tom Morrissey at the final whistle. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
His puckouts were as dependable as always, and Galway created no real goal chances in the first half. Handled one tricky ball under the bar very well. 7.
Found Conor Whelan a handful early on - what defender hasn’t had that experience? - and picked up a yellow for fouling Brian Concannon later in the first half. Settled to his task after the break, though. 7.
Had Joe Canning for company early on but had a very good opening half. Fielded one dangerous ball just before the break well but his clearance went out of play and Joe Canning pointed the resulting sideline. 7
Was the spare man early on, pushing up to sweep behind Declan Hannon. Won some good ball in that role and gave good deliveries to the inside line when clearing. Always available to Quaid for a puck-out or clearance. 8.
Not involved in the first quarter but hit the equaliser for Limerick with a typical long-range effort from out on the wing on 21 minutes and broke up a couple of Galway attacks also. Nailed a nervy late free, too. 8.
His distribution was up to his usual high standards, linking the play well. He finished a typical sweeping move out of the Limerick defence with a fine long-range point in first-half injury time. Organised his defence well, too. Replaced in injury time by Paddy O'Loughlin. 7.
Got on plenty of early ball and was always looking to bring his teammates into the game. Kept driving forward down the left wing and asking questions of the Galway defenders and midfielders. Won a couple of frees also. 9
Broke even with his man early on but wasn’t as involved in the game in the second quarter with the middle of the field being bypassed. Set up Cian Lynch for a point but replaced by David Reidy on 52 minutes. 6.
Got involved physically in the exchanges around the middle of the field to give Limerick a bridgehead in that area. Held the middle without being prominent. 6
Subdued in the opening quarter by his own standards, with Galway quick to get bodies around him. Tried hard to get involved in the second half and set Peter Casey up for a point before getting off the mark himself. 7
Started with a poor wide but hit Limerick’s fourth point before the first water-break and ended the first half with three good points to his credit. A loose pull on Joe Canning wasn’t as impressive but he had the energy to win that vital late, late free. 9.
Limerick were three points down and had hit three wides before Morrissey intervened in the ninth minute to open their account. Tacked on two more points in the first half in a typically hard-working display and added three huge points late on. 9
Missed his first free and saw little of the ball in the first quarter. Got involved needlessly with Galway ‘keeper Eanna Murphy as well but ended the first half with four points. More involved in the second half in general play. Replaced in injury time by Pat Ryan. 7.
Moved to the right corner to let Aaron Gillane in on the edge of the square, and was busy all through, working hard on and off the ball. Hit two points before being replaced by Adrian Breen on 62 minutes. 7.
Intercepted an Eanna Murphy clearance early on but couldn’t get a shot away when the goal was on. Taken off for Peter Casey on 40 minutes. 5
Showed a lot of energy when he came in, hitting two points in eight minutes and making a good interception and later, a fine catch. 8.
Casey placed him for a good goal chance but Murphy saved well. Hit a wide also. 6
Didn't get on much ball but hit a vital late point. 7
Didn't get involved
Under pressure after a series of stray short puck-outs early on and never really inspired confidence. Went long mostly thereafter. Pulled off important saves from Seamus Flanagan (twice), Kyle Hayes and David Reidy. 6
Had his hands full all evening and at fault late on with a loose pass that ended in an Adrian Breen point. 7
Duelled Aaron Gillane and not as dominant as against Tipperary. Fielded superbly above Seamus Flanagan in the 44th minute to deny a Limerick goal and got better as the game progressed, dishing out some thunderous hits. 7
Booked in the opening quarter for a high challenge on William O'Donoghue. Started the second-half at midfield after a shake up of positions. Eventually taken off with around 20 minutes to go when Galway were five down. 6
A late addition to the Galway defence in place of Fintan Burke. Outfield by the other number 19, Peter Casey, in a spectacular aerial battle that ended with David Reidy hitting the woodwork in the second-half. Cynical hurley pull late on. 6
Moved onto the wing in the second-half. First act after the restart was to foul Kyle Hayes for a free that was pointed. Left Aaron Gillane in a heap on the floor with a huge shoulder in the 56th minute. 6
Moved into the attack after Fintan Burke's introduction at half-time. Won an important free that Joe Canning converted as Galway rallied. Struck a bad wide too. 6
Deployed as a sweeper and did his best to patrol the space around Limerick's inside forward line in particular. His role limited his ability to get on the ball and impact the play himself. 7
Put in a big shift of hard running and won some useful possessions but generally under pressure in the Galway engine room. 7
First touch was a sumptuous sideline cut that sailed over and, remarkably, he drilled over three more, scoring 0-12 in total. Got treatment for a strike on the lower back by Gearoid Hegarty. Taken off in the 69th minute after a blow to the head from colleague Joseph Cooney. 8
Pulled up with a hamstring injury in the 23rd minute. Had been covering a huge amount of ground and enjoying plenty of possession. Put Galway 0-4 to 0-1 ahead in the 10th minute and looked to be on for a big game. 7
Wore number 12 but reverted to midfield, clearing number eight Padraic Mannion to play as a sweeper. Didn't hit his peak this time and was taken off at half-time. 6
Began brightly by winning a third minute free that Joe Canning pointed. Added three first-half points and was a real danger to the Limerick defence but faded out and didn't score from the 27th minute. 7
Picked up by Kyle Hayes initially. Fouled Tom Morrissey for a 19th minute free that was pointed and struggled generally to impact the game. Replaced By Jason Flynn in the third quarter. 6
Galway had only five in attack but Whelan made it seem like six at times as he covered acres of ground, winning frees and fighting for every loose ball. Another tireless display and 0-3 tallied. 8
Came on for the injured Cathal Mannion in an unfamiliar position and pinched a tasty score. Moved to wing-back in the second-half and helped quell Limerick's dominance there. 7
Brought on at the interval in a generally successful move by Shane O'Neill to shore up the half-back line. Scored from a sideline late on, a la Canning. 7
Came on and got stuck in but failed to grab a score as were surely his orders. 6
Played the final 20 minutes or so and generally under pressure as Limerick finished strongly. 6
Replaced the injured Joe Canning and couldn't have done much more, scoring 0-2 and setting up a Conor Whelan point. 8
