In the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Galway managed to defeat Antrim with a score of 2-25 to 1-14, reversing their fortunes after a challenging first half at Corrigan Park. Antrim was down to 14 players after Ryan McGarry received a red card three minutes into the second half, a setback from which Antrim couldn’t recover. The Saffrons sporting advantage of a point from the first half was blown away by their numerical disadvantage.
Antrim’s opportunity for a surprise victory seemed likely in the first half, but they failed to sustain their momentum in the second. Despite their past defeat to Wexford two weeks prior, Galway proved their resilience. “We knew what happened with Wexford, so we were prepared,” commented Galway’s manager, Henry Shefflin.
Although Galway started the match well, they seemed destabilised in the first half as Antrim started making their mark. Conor Cooney, Evan Niland, and Conor Whelan were crucial in getting Galway into a steady lead before they scored their first goal ten minutes in. Seán Linnane’s clever pass to Gavin Lee resulted in a goal.
Antrim gained composure with Keelan Molloy and James McNaughton demonstrating skills. Michael Bradley scored the tie-winning point. After a difficult 10 minutes, Padraic Mannion ended the goal drought for Galway, but Antrim retaliated with McNaughton equalising from a free shot. Following that, Rian McMullan, a late substitute, set up Conal Bohill for a well-deserved goal for Antrim 29 minutes in.
The game in Galway saw a temporary surge in energy as scores came from Niland and Whelan. However, there was better turnaround for Antrim after a vital interception by Ryan Elliot, despite their eight missed shots and another five falling short in the early stages of the match. Gerard Walsh of Antrim increased their lead by successfully making a free kick and then following with a sideline over.
A fortunate save was made by Darach Fahy when a free by McNaughton dropped and Fahy nearly fumbled. With some contentious views from Antrim that a goal, signified by a green flag, should have been declared, Fahy managed to recover in the nick of time. As the game proceeded, the gap was slightly bridged when late scores were made by Tom Monaghan and Niland. at the midway point Antrim was leading with the scores at 1-11 to 1-10.
There were expectations of an exciting second half, however, a clumsy high challenge on Whelan by McGarry resulted in a red card. Niland leveraged the free kick to make a levelling goal. Initially, Antrim seemed to carry on undeterred, with Keelan Molloy making a charge towards the goal only to be hooked back in a critical moment. This allowed Galway’s Linnane to grasp the lead- a lead that would further strengthen with Cooney’s successful penalty producing a goal that gave the visitors some comfort.
Despite operating with fewer men, Antrim struggled in offence, as Galway successfully widened their lead with points scored by a varied players. Antrim could only account for three points from James McNaughton during this period. Galway was keen on maximum points from goals but fell short. However, more points were added by Connor Whelan, Daithí Burke, and Jonathan Glynn, before Donal O’Shea closed the game with the final points.
Antrim players for the day were R Elliott; C Boyd, N O’Connor, P Burke; G Walsh (0-2, one free, one sideline), R McGarry, C Bohill (1-0); E Campbell, K Molloy (0-3); N Elliott, M Bradley (0-1), N McKenna; R McMullan, S Elliott, J McNaughton (0-8, six frees). W Walsh replaced E Campbell at minute 24 while other substitutions were made at 48 and 51 minutes by R McCloskey and C McCann respectively. F McCurry and P Boyle also made appearances on the pitch at 55 and 66 minutes.
In Galway, D Fahy, J Grealish, Daithí Buurke (scoring 0-1), F Burke, S Linnane (with 0-2), P Mannion (notching 0-1), C Fahy (making 0-1), David Burke (registering 0-1), and R Glennon, took to the field alongside G Lee (archiving 1-0), T Monaghan (tallying 0-1), J Cooney (securing 0-1), C Whelan (working on 0-3), C Cooney (producing 1-6 that includes one penalty, three frees, and one 65), and E Niland (scoring 0-5, three of which were frees).
Substitutions saw D McLoughlin replacing C Whelan for minutes 38 to 42 and E Niland from minute 52; A Tuohey for R Glennon from the 55th minute; J Ryan swapping in for J Cooney in the 58th minute. In that same minute, David Burke made way for D O’Shea (tallying 0-2), and J Glynn took over from J Ryan at the 61st-minute mark. J Flynn (with 0-1) stepped in for G Lee at the 66th-minute mark.
The game was officiated by Michael Kennedy, a referee from Tipperary.