In a hard-fought Hurling match at Salthill’s blustery Pearse Stadium, Galway and Limerick finished at a draw of 0-17 each. Thanks to two key free shots from Evan Niland in overtime, Galway secured a well-deserved draw against reigning All-Ireland champions, Limerick. Despite an additional player on the field for over 50 minutes, Galway couldn’t clinch the win required for progressing to Division 1 semi-finals. Limerick, however, despite the ejection of Shane O’Brien 26 minutes into the game, managed to secure a spot atop the Group B table.
At the end of a riveting first half, Galway led 0-12 to 0-9. Yet, the entry of ex-Hurler of the Year, Diarmuid Byrnes sparked the rejuvenation of Limerick’s game in the second half. Through successful long-range frees, Byrnes contributed five points, and alongside contributions from Tom Morrissey and Adam English, Limerick led 0-15 to 0-14 by the 63rd minute. Despite a tie from Niland a minute later, Limerick appered to have the edge when off-bench player Gearoid Hegarty and aforementioned Byrnes scored more points.
However, Galway remained persistent, securing two final chances that Niland converted, undeterred by the absence of the banned pair, Daithí Burke and Conor Whelan. A winning score was elusive for both teams as time elapsed. In the first half, Cathal Mannion of Galway and Limerick’s Adam English were prominent, each scoring four notable points. After an evenly matched opening ten minutes, Galway gradually picked up the pace, with Ronan Glennon, Padraic Mannion and a free from Evan Niland pushing them ahead, 0-6 to 0-3.
David Reidy and Adam English played pivotal roles in keeping the visitors competitive, with constant back-and-forth play resulting in Galway narrowly leading with a score of 0-8 to 0-7, after the first 25 minutes. Yet, circumstances took a turn when Limerick’s squad diminished to a mere fourteen as Shane O’Brien was given his marching orders by referee, Thomas Walsh; the reason being the removal of Galway’s Seán Linnane’s helmet.
Fully exploiting the disparity in team numbers, the Tribesmen outperformed Limerick in the last stretch of the half, with players Cathal Mannion, Evan Niland (free), David Burke and Gavin Lee raising white flags, scoring four points to Limerick’s two. This set the teams three points apart at half-time. However, even with Padraic Mannion acting as the extra man and Galway seeming to dominate, they struggled to overcome Limerick’s stubborn defence in an intensely contested second half.
Galway’s squad included D Fahy, J Grealish, F Burke, P Mannion (0-1), A Tuohey (0-1), C Fahy, and R Glennon (0-2). D Burke (0-1), S Linnane, G Lee (0-2), T Monaghan, and J Cooney featured as well. Further, C Mannion (0-4), C Cooney, E Niland (0-6, five frees) played with substitutes B Concannon for Lee (50); J Ryan for J Cooney (57); D Morrissey for Tuohey (63); D O’Shea for D Burke (68).
The Limerick team included N Quaid; F O’Connor, M Casey, B Nash; C O’Neill, D Hannon, C Coughlan; D Reidy who scored one point, B Murphy; S O’Brien also with one point, C Lynch, T Morrissey who made two points; A Gillane adding two points from frees, S Flanagan, and A English with five points. Substitutes who came on during the match were D Byrnes contributing five points through frees, replacing Coughlan who was injured at 35 minutes; P Casey substituting Flanagan at 47 minutes; W O’Donoghue replacing Murphy at the same time; G Hegarty contributing one point, replacing Gillane at 57 minutes; A Costello as a substitute for O’Connor who was injured at 63 minutes; R Lyons coming on for M Casey at 65 minutes and G Mulcahy replacing Reidy at 67 minutes. The match was officiated by T Walsh from Waterford.