In the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final, Galway clinched a victory over Dublin with a score of 0-17 to 0-16 in a dramatic clash on Dublin’s home field. In recognition of this significant triumph, Galway coach Pádraic Joyce referred to it as a momentous event, despite there being no trophies to be awarded for the occasion.
Being amongst the three unbeaten teams that had made it this far, Galway faced off against the All-Ireland champions, a contest that ended up culling the victorious group to two, with Galway standing. They defied all odds to achieve victory, especially since they struggled when the game got underway, having been compelled to compete in a preliminary quarter-final just days before.
Galway needed to contain the potent force of Dublin, who presented their top players from the start, including captain James McCarthy, prior Footballer of the Year Jack McCaffrey, and Paul Mannion. A strong team that holds 22 All-Irelands collectively had to be faced, as acknowledged by Joyce, but this proved to be a daunting task in the initial half of the match.
Even with this pressure, Dublin navigated the game biomechanically and capitalised on every opportunity with deadly precision. Despite being known for their defensive prowess that had seen them concede only one goal in the season, the Connacht champions were not operating at their full potential.
Contributions from players like Con O’Callaghan and Brian Fenton, together with Mannion, Cormac Costello, and Ciarán Kilkenny aided in raising the score. Worries about the physical condition of Shane Walsh and Damien Comer were also prevalent during the weekend, but ultimately both players participated from the start and they rose to the occasion as the match unfolded. However, Comer encountered a tough challenge in Seán McMahon, a dogged and close-marking opponent.
Despite a shaky start, Walsh maintained the momentum of the game with his impeccable shooting skills in the first half. Not only did he ruthlessly barrage John Small with two exceptional play finishes, but his precise shooting ensured a narrow four-point lead for Dublin by the interval, the score standing at 0-11 to 0-7. This happened in spite of Dublin’s chances to widen the lead owing to the adversary’s fleeting weaknesses in defence. However, Seán Mulkerrin’s determined fight from the left wing and one unfortunate turnovers somewhat redeemed the situation for the team.
In the final group game, Mayo had disrupted Dublin’s rhythm by restraining essential players like Fenton and O’Callaghan. Saturday saw a similar strategy played out by John Maher who brilliantly checkmated Fenton throughout the game. Goalkeeper Connor Gleeson’s significant change in strategy also played a role in this. After a previous issue with his erratic restarts being capitalised on by Armagh in the group game matchup, Gleeson relied on extended kick-outs for the lion’s share of the game, allowing Galway to retain an impressive two-thirds hold on the match.
Joyce conveyed that the intention behind the half-time team talk was to elicit a rapid reaction to the somewhat subdued initial 35 minutes of play. An early reputed score by Cillian McDaid, which was their primary focus in the immediate minutes post half-time, helped prevent Dublin from gaining traction with the first few goals of the half.
McDaid was subsequently declared the RTÉ man of the match to mark his invaluable contribution of three second-half scores. Galway had clearly missed McDaid’s vital work ethic and athletic prowess, capped by his remarkable ability to deliver critical punishing scores since the 2022 Player of the Year nomination.
The rest of the team were solid in their support, with Paul Conroy recovering from a series of missed goals to end strong, and Dylan McHugh brightly displaying his usual brilliance, procuring turnovers and executing the equalizer goal in the 65th minute, after which Galway never fell behind once more.
The game saw a repeat of the 2021 sequence when Mayo had dethroned Dublin, then scrambling for their seventh continuous title. The champions seemed to falter under the pressure with Fenton missing a hallmark chance at the Hill end which could have directed a significant momentum shift.
The match saw O’Callaghan go for a shot at the goal, but was notably obstructed by Mulkerrin, leading to Costello failing to capitalise on the subsequent 45, as well as a subsequent free shot. Galway managed to level the playing field following a two-minute onslaught that saw them score three points whilst closely trailing the defending champions, who subsequently lost all traction. In the last quarter, their inconsistencies caused them to forfeit their lead. Upon Johnny Heaney, a substitute, scoring to put the champions of Connacht in the lead for the first time since the match’s initial play, the 49,896 strong crowd was thrilled into a frenzy.
The match’s outcome at this point became evident. Although O’Callaghan tried to keep hopes for his team alive, a last-minute attempt at securing a draw was off target and time ticked away, concluding an extraordinary run. However, credit went to another squad that facilitated the turn of events.
The roster for GALWAY was as follows: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh (0-1), L Silke, S Mulkerrin; P Conroy (0-1), J Maher (0-1); S Kelly (captain), M Tierney (0-1, m), C McDaid (0-3); R Finnerty, D Comer, S Walsh (0-7, 4f). Substitutes were: C D’Arcy (0-1) for Kelly (22 minutes in); L Ó Conghaile for Finnerty (47 minutes in); Johnny Heaney (0-1) for Tierney (54 minutes in); Cian Hernon for Fitzgerald (60 minutes in); Tomo Culhane (0-1) for Walsh (65 minutes in).
The DUBLIN lineup was as follows: S Cluxton; J Small (0-1), S McMahon, M Fitzsimons; E Murchan, J McCarthy (0-1), J McCaffrey; B Fenton (0-1), B Howard; C Kilkenny (0-2), S Bugler (0-1), N Scully; P Mannion (0-1), C O’Callaghan (0-4, 2m 1f), C Costello (0-4, 2f, 1 45).
Substitute changes: At 48 minutes, C Basquel was brought in for Mannion; at 53 minutes, R McGarry (0-1) replaced Scully; then, at 59 mins, T Lahiff stepped in for McCaffrey; at 66 minutes, P Small took over from Costello, and at 72 minutes, L O’Dell came on for Murchan. The match was presided over by referee S Hurson from Tyrone.