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Picture Courtesy Matthew Lysaght
DUBLIN 3-15
GALWAY 0-29
Dublin suffered their second successive reverse as Galway took control in the second-half to win by five points in Round 5 of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship at a blusteryParnell Park on Sunday afternoon.
The sides were level at 1-7 to 0-10 by the interval with a goal from late replacement Rian McBride stalling Galway’s early momentum.
However, with the breeze strengthening, the visitors availed of this advantage in the second-half with their ability to blitz Dublin for points seeing them pull away by the final whistle, despite late, consolation goals from Sean Currie and Conal Ó Riain.
In what was essentially a play-off for a spot in the provincial decider, both teams struggled with their accuracy initially, admittedly with a tricky, swirling breeze prevalent in Donnycarney.
As a result, it took over six minutes for the first score to arrive through Galway full-forward Brian Concannon before Cian O’Sullivan eventually got the hosts on the board a minute later with a point from distance.
That score proved an isolated moment of encouragement for Dublin as they struck six wides inside the opening fifteen minutes, allowing their opponents to gain an early advantage through points from Seán Linnane and Concannon.
Further Galway scores arrived from Anthony Burns, Cathal Mannion (free) and Tom Monaghan as the Dubs faced a five-point deficit by the 16th minute.
The hosts were in need of some inspiration at this stage and it duly arrived from the resultant puck out as Sean Currie raced through before finding McBride for an angled finish across Darach Fahy from ten yards.
Points followed in quick succession from Conor Donohoe and AJ Murphy as the Dubs restored parity by the end of the first quarter and they edged in front for the first time thanks to Currie’s 19th minute point.
The remainder of the half was an exercise in point trading as Concannon and David Burke popped over Galway scores while a brace of Currie frees helped ensure parity by the turnaround.
The trend continued after the break as Cianan Fahy and Chris Crummey added points from half-back for their respective sides before Galway made a decisive move as they struck three unanswered points through Mannion (free), Conor Whelan and TJ Brennan.
While O’Sullivan replied with a fine score at the opposite end in the 42nd minute, the visitors continued to build on their lead with a brace of Mannion frees augmented by further points by Burke and Whelan.
O’Sullivan’s third of the day and two points from Currie brought Dublin to within four points by the end of the third quarter but that deficit was doubled in the space of two minutes as Galway blitzed them for four points.
Those points from Burke, Monaghan, Mannion and Concannon effectively settled the issue by the 55th minute but some late Dublin pressure was rewarded fourteen minutes later as Currie netted from a free for the second successive match.
An Ó Riain goal followed in the second minute of added time but there was insufficient time to salvage their fate as they had to concede second best on the day.
Scorers – Dublin: S Currie 1-6 (1-4f, 0-1 ’65); R McBride 1-1; C Ó Riain 1-0; C O’Sullivan 0-3; P Doyle, C Crummey, C Donohoe, B Hayes, AJ Murphy 0-1 apiece. Galway: C Mannion 0-8 (8f); B Concannon 0-5; T Monaghan 0-4; David Burke, C Whelan 0-3 each; C Fahy 0-2; TJ Brennan, A Burns, S Linnane, C Cooney 0-1 apiece.
Dublin: S Brennan; C McHugh, P Smyth, J Bellew; P Doyle, C Crummey; C Donohoe; C Burke, B Hayes; R McBride, C O’Sullivan, D Power; AJ Murphy, J Hetherton, S Currie. Subs: R Hayes for Murphy (45), C Currie for Power (50), D Lucey for Bellew (55), F Whitely for Burke (58), C Ó Riain for B Hayes (70).
Galway: D Fahy; P Mannion, F Burke, Dáithi Burke; C Fahy, G Lee, TJ Brennan; David Burke, S Linnane; J Fleming, T Monaghan, C Whelan; A Burns, B Concannon, C Mannion. Subs: C Cooney for Fleming (Temp, 22-25), J Grealish for Dáithí Burke (48), C Cooney for Burns (61), T Killeen for Fleming (61), R Glennon for Linnane (70).
Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork).