Galway 0-16 Tipperary 0-16: THERE WERE more encouraging signs for Liam Sheedy yesterday as he watched his young Tipperary team tough out a draw in the hail and high winds of Salthill.
Not for the first time, Eoin Kelly delivered the crucial score, driving a free from 75 yards through the devilish wind three minutes into injurytime.
Tipperary deserved some reward after playing the second half with 14 men and despite the fact that Galway had plenty of chances, Ger Loughnane was not too disheartened afterwards.
"It got so crowded and so frantic - that's all it was, like - a frantic struggle to see who would get over the line in the end," he chuckled. "And I told them that at half-time - I knew at half-time that is how Tipperary would be. And even three points was a big lead on a day like today, with the wind swirling all over the place and the ground really, really soft."
That was at the heart of it. This was no day for hurling and Pearse Stadium is so exposed that it can make fools of the most skilful stickmen when the weather is tricky.
Galway free-taker Ger Farragher found the going particularly miserable, registering eight wides and even if three of those were from sideline balls, the misses cost Galway dearly.
Kerril Wade was eventually switched on to placed ball duty after 60 minutes, striking the two frees that gave Galway a single point lead which they took into injury-time.
Eoin Kelly was also having an uneven day with placed balls. In the first half, Kelly seemed to misfire a rudimentary free so badly it required a diving save from goalkeeper James Skehill and just after half-time, he drove a 65 through the defensive lines and again forced Skehill into reflex action. But Tipperary centre back Conor O'Mahony was unfazed by the elements and fired four windaided frees and a 65 from monstrous distances in the first half.
He might have been tempted to have a go at the last-gasp free but Kelly made the score look like a 20-yard tap-over. Liam Sheedy just shook his head in thanks when recalling the score.
"On a day when it is tough to get on the ball, we asked him to come out the field a bit and everywhere you looked, there seemed to bemen in maroon jerseys everywhere.
And he showed great nerve and steel to step up to the last ball. That sums Eoin Kelly up for me."
Yet again, Sheedy enhanced his credentials here. He had to shuffle his team when Lar Corbett (hamstrings) and Eamonn Corcoran (illness) were declared unfit. His team raced into a 0-6 to 0-2 lead after 13 minutes but their flow was further disrupted when Hugh Maloney was carried off.
Tipperary mixed the good and the bad after that but they were fiercely keen. It was that attribute as much as anything that caused Ryan O'Dwyer to get sent off. The Tipperary forwards were putting it up to the Galway defenders with a series of tough challenges and while O'Dwyer's challenge on David Forde wasn't malicious, it was a heavy foul and deserved the second yellow card shown by referee Morris.
The foul, in the 38th minute, was also needless and provided Wade with the chance to land a huge free that left Galway trailing by 0-8 to 0-11 at the break.
From that position, one would have expected the Tribesmen to press on and force a home victory. In truth, they had all the chances - 14 wides are just too many - and in pushing into the lead two minutes into injury-time, it looked like they had timed their comeback perfectly.
But all afternoon, Galway were stop-start. The defence was solid, with John Lee once more composed and dominant at centre back and Ger Mahon rousing Pearse Stadium with a huge point from the left wing after 56 minutes.
Fergal Moore gave a tidy and accomplished display in the corner but Galway had the luxury of using Conor Dervan as a free man in the second half and will be disappointed they could not make more of that advantage.
Up front, things were less assuring. Iarla Tannian struggled at full forward and with Alan Kerins going off injured and Farragher out of sorts, Galway were fortunate Wade was on song.
David Forde worked hard and Niall Healy struck two delightful scores in a busy performance. "We are getting happier with our defence every week. Kevin Hynes has been terrific at midfield and today against several combinations of Tipperary players. I still think we need one or two more forwards and if we can find those, we will be a reasonable force when summer time comes," said Loughnane. They say there are a couple of handy attackers down Portumna way but those matters are for other days.
GALWAY: J Skehill; C Dervan, T Óg Regan, F Moore; S Kavanagh, J Lee, G Mahon (0-1); F Healy, K Hynes (0-1); A Kerins, D Forde (0-1), N Healy (0-2); G Farragher (0-3, frees), I Tannian, K Wade (0-6, four frees). Subs: A Cullinane (0-1) for Kerins inj (17 mins), A Callanan (0-1) for Tannian (45 mins).
TIPPERARY: B Cummins; E Buckley, P Curran, C O'Brien; A Byrne, C O'Mahony (0-5, four frees, 65), B Dunne; J Woodlock, S McGrath (0-2); R O'Dwyer, H Maloney (0-1); J O'Brien (0-2); E Kelly (0-4, three frees), P Bourke, S Butler (0-1). Subs: P Kerwick (0-1)for H Maloney (8 mins inj), W Ryan for P Bourke (44 mins), D Hickey for S Butler (63 mins), T Fitzgerald for J O'Brien (66 mins).
Referee: E Morris (Dublin).
