Galway fire 3-6 in closing minutes to blast past Limerick and into All-Ireland minor final
2 July 2021; Gavin Lee of Galway in action against Sean Whelan of Limerick during the 2020 Electric Ireland Leinster GAA Hurling Minor Championship Semi-Final match between Limerick and Galway at Cusack Park in Ennis, Clare. Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile
Galway’s hurlers are well used to coming out of the long grass to announce themselves on the big stage and so it was on Friday night as the latest batch of minors to come off the production line made a winning debut in the 2020 championship at the All-Ireland semi-final stage.
A first game carried over from last year because of the Covid-19 restrictions, but it mattered little as this highly thought of Galway side eased away to a comprehensive 15-point victory over a very disappointing Limerick side that failed to produce their Munster championship form.
It was a canter in the end because of a devastating finale as the Tribesmen hit 3-6 in the last eight minutes to kill off a determined second-half rally by the Munster champions that threatened to bring the game to the wire.
“We were being out-fought and out-battled in the second half and it looked as if we had no answers,” said Galway manager Brian Hanley afterwards, “but what it came down to was Gavin’s Lee's goal. We looked dead on our feet and the 18-month wait had caught up on us but then Gavin takes a ball out of air and cuts through the middle and gets a goal and we got a new lease of life.”
Liam Collins then followed with two more to put the icing on proceedings for a Galway side that was largely dominant, apart from a poor third quarter when Limerick finally got to the pitch of the battle and became competitive.
Galway made a number of decisive thrusts throughout the game, with the first salvo at the end of the first quarter yielding 1-3 without reply as they eased into a 1-5 to 0-3 lead. This provided the platform for the rest of the contest.
Livewire corner-forward Colm Molloy, who proved a thorn in Limerick’s side throughout, showed the way with a couple of classy scores early on, but it was the goal he laid on for Ruben Davitt in the 12th minute that showed up an early gulf in class between the sides.
Limerick’s Munster championship dash from the tail end of 2020 was missing in action, with a hungry Galway side showing no mercy as they hit scores from distance in the first half, with all but 0-2 of their total coming from play as they built up a healthy seven-point advantage.
Armed with this 1-8 to 0-4 interval lead, all that was left was to stay firm at the back and withstand the fightback of a Limerick side that had managed just one point from play in the opening half.
The rally came when Limerick hit the opening six points of the second half, with corner-forward Shane O’Brien leading their charge while Cian Scully and Liam Lynch were also to the fore.
This spirit ensured only one point separated the sides at the end of the third quarter as Galway lead by 1-11 to 0-13, but Limerick just couldn’t keep it going before Lee’s brilliant 52nd-minute strike opened the floodgates and eased Galway's nerves.
With that, it was all over.
L Collins (2-7, 3f, 2 ‘65), C Molloy (0-5),R Davitt (1-1), G Lee (1-1), C Slattery (0-2), G Thomas (0-2).
L Lynch (0-6, 5f, 1 ‘65), S O’Brien (0-3), P O’Donovan (0-2), A English (0-2), C Scully (0-1), J Fitzgerald (0-1).
D Walsh; S Morgan, A Nolan (Capt), M Walsh; S O’Hanlon, T Killeen, P Burke; L Leen, K Hanrahan; G Lee, G Thomas, R Killea; R Davitt, L Collins, C Molloy.
C Slattery for Killilea (36), D Davoren for Hanrahan (49), S Fox for Davitt (55), T Leen for O’Hanlon (56), D O’Flaherty for Burke (59).
T Lynch; J Fitzgerald, V Harrington, R Lyons; B Molyneaux, C Scully, S Whelan; J Kirby, B Duff; L O’Connor, L Lynch, E Hurley; P O’Donovan, A English (Capt), S O’Brien.
D Lynch for Molyneaux (Half-Time), E Harmon for Duff (43), A Fitzgerald for O’Connor (45).
T Walsh (Waterford)
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