Donoghue’s Galway return ends in disappointment as Tipperary cruise to victory

Tipperary dished out a 12-point hammering in Salthill and it could have been more.

Dylan Walsh of Tipperary celebrates after scoring his side's third goal against Galway at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Allianz HL Division 1A: Galway 2-16 Tipperary 3-25 

The scale of the task ahead for Micheál Donoghue was brutally demonstrated on a harsh January day. Tipperary dished out a 12-point hammering and it could have been more. At home in Salthill, Galway looked completely lost.

Micheál Donoghue marked his return with an experimental team blending the new with the old. There were debuts for Seán Murphy, Michael Garvey, Rory Burke and Oisin Lohan. Tipperary responded in kind with four rookies of their own: Michael Corcoran, Sam O’Farrell, Darragh McCarthy and Dylan Walsh.

It was Walsh who created the first goal of the game when he was fouled by Murphy as he made for goal. Galway had cause to take issue with a push on Shane Cooney prior to the well-dispatched Darragh McCarthy penalty but it was an accurate reflection of the contest.

Tipperary led 1-13 to 0-9 at the turnaround having well-marshalled the inside duo of Conor Whelan and Liam Collins while completely conquering the middle third. Eanna Murphy opted to go short due to the lack of long options and watched his raw defensive combatants drive into trouble repeatedly. Tipperary mustered four in a row before the break thanks to a pair of McCarthy frees, a Gearoid O’Connor effort from the wing and a Jake Morris score from the centre channel. The hits were coming from every side.

Cianan Fahy and Lohan had started brightly while Whelan forced an important relieving point midway through the half, tapped over by starting free-taker Burke. Kevin Cooney did flash a goal chance wide while plenty of early possession was targeted towards Liam Collins with little to show for it on the scoreboard.

For Tipperary, Michael Breen renewed his dual with Conor Whelan and did well. Craig Morgan was a menace driving forward, clipping the opening effort of the second half. Two booming Rhys Shelly deliveries prompted two clear goal chances, O’Connor simply tapping in the first on the 45-minute mark and Andy Ormond firing over the second.

Galway then collapsed. Ronan Maher found Walsh with an angled pass for a third goal. The Ballingarry clubman finally found the net after two missed efforts, rolling Murphy to create space for a terrific bottom-corner strike.

The margin was 16 points at that point. Two late Galway goals by replacements John Fleming and Declan McLoughlin, both messy but sorely needed, reduced the ugly deficit.

Scorers for Galway: R. Burke 0-4 frees; C. Whelan 0-3; J. Fleming 1-0, D. McLoughlin 1-0. Lohan 0-3; K. Cooney 0-2 (1 sideline); L. Collins 0-1, T. Monaghan 0-1, C. Fahy 0-1, T. Brennan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Tipperary: D. McCarthy 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-5 frees, 0-1 65); D. Walsh 1-3, G. O’Connor 1-2; J. Morris, W. Connors 0-3 each; A. Ormond, S. O’Farrell, C. Morgan 0-2 each; R. Maher, J. Fogarty 0-1 each.

GALWAY: E. Murphy; J. Grealish, F. Burke, S. Murphy; M. Garvey, S. Cooney, T. Brennan; C. Fahy, D. O’Shea; R. Burke, T. Monaghan, O. Lohan; C. Whelan, K. Cooney, L. Collins.

Subs: J Fleming for O’Shea, C. Whelan for Garvey (both 47); D. McLoughlin for Cooney (53); S. Morgan for Cooney (55); A. Burns for Collins (68).

TIPPERARY: R. Shelly; E. Connolly, M. Breen, M. Corcoran; S. O’Farrell, R. Maher, B. McGrath; W. Connors, C. Morgan; A. Tynan, A. Ormond, G. O’Connor; D. McCarthy, J. Morris, D. Walsh.

Subs: R. Doyle for Corcoran (half-time); C. Bowe for Ormond (52); S. Kennedy for Doyle (53-56, temp); J. Fogarty for Tynan (55); S. Kennedy for McGrath (59);C. Martin for O’Connor (65).

Referee: C. Lyons (Cork).