REPORT: Tipperary dispatch Galway with relative ease in Allianz Hurling League opener

Allianz National Hurling League - Division 1A - Round 1

Tipperary 3-25

Galway 2-16

Tipperary couldn’t have asked for a better start to their 2025 campaign as they defeated Galway with plenty to spare in a one-sided Allianz National Hurling League Division 1A opener in a wet and windy Pearse Stadium in Salthill on Sunday evening.

On paper, it was a tough assignment for the first round of the league campaign against a Galway side buoyed by the return of Micheal Donoghue to the manager role, but it was anything but the competitive and close run thing predicted as Tipperary dominated throughout.

A strong first-half showing - particularly in the final 15 minutes - had Tipperary in a good place at the half-time break, leading 1-13 to 0-9 with the goal coming from a well-dispatched Darragh McCarthy penalty as Tipp looked far sharper and clinical with the ball in hand on the messy surface in Salthill.

The second half was even more dominant from a Tipperary perspective with a scoring spree between the 40th and the 55th minute including goals from Gearoid O’Connor and the impressive Dylan Walsh that had the Premier home and hosed with the last quarter to come.

Galway for their part looked all over the place by comparison with everything breaking down for them throughout the contest, and while they managed a brace of goals in the final ten minutes to put a somewhat glossy complexion on the defeat, they came more from Tipperary errors rather than Galway incisiveness.

Tipperary had the use of the considerable breeze present as the after-effects of Storm Éowyn continued to linger in Salthill but it was Galway who started well with Cianan Fahy and debutant Oisin Lohan hitting points from play inside the first minute.

The late addition of Brian McGrath to the starting line-up in place of Bryan O’Mara moved the pieces around with Michael Breen dropping into defence to man-mark Conor Whelan, with Brian McGrath at wing-back.

Darragh McCarthy hit Tipp’s first score of the match from a 65 that settled the debutant well but it didn’t settle the team fully as Galway continued to find scoring chances through placed balls; young Rory Burke hit his first free in the sixth minute while Kevin Cooney fired over a beautiful sideline in the ninth minute.

Dylan Walsh was showing well for Tipperary at the other end and bagged a well-taken point after a strong run past Jack Grealish in between those two Galway efforts and this would signal a flurry of scores for Tipp soon after.

Jake Morris got up and running in the tenth minute before the aforementioned Dylan Walsh was fouled when in on goal a minute later. Up stepped Darragh McCarthy who made no mistake to bury his effort low to the back of the net.

A Gearoid O’Connor opener came straight from the next restart, which had Tipp in good shape now after a slow start, leading 1-4 to 0-4 after 12 minutes.

The workrate from the forwards was notable from here on in during the first half with Darragh McCarthy (free), Willie Connors, and Ronan Maher all firing over scores to extend the lead.

The sides traded five points in the next 10 minutes with Andrew Ormond and Darragh McCarthy (2 frees) on target, and from here, Tipperary finished the half well with well-taken points from turnovers by Jake Morris and Gearoid O’Connor pushing them into a comfortable but not unassailable seven-point lead.

A quick start for Galway would have them well back in contention with the wind now at their backs but despite good points coming from Oisin Lohan and Kevin Cooney early doors, it was a case of a false dawn for the Tribesmen.

The Tipperary defence excelled in the next 10 minutes, with the attack soon following suit in front of goal with Jake Morris and the excellent Willie Connors hitting excellent scores.

They were important points too as they came just after a few flashpoints, including Alan Tynan’s flick on Liam Collins after winning a free. Tynan retaliated after winning a free close to goal and he was lucky to avoid a red card for the action.

From here, Tipperary began to pull away as they had far too much time and space on the ball - using it well to be fair - with Galway at sixes and sevens as points tagged on from Andrew Ormond and Darragh McCarthy were quickly followed by a scrappy goal.

Gearoid O’Connor was the provider of that three-pointer, pouncing on a long ball from Rhys Shelly to whip the first time to the net and when Dylan Walsh rifled an excellent effort to the back of the net in the 48th minute, it was officially game over as the remainder was processionary.

The scores continued to flow as Tipp ran out easy winners in the end, but two scrappy goals conceded in the final ten minutes will have blotted the copy book; particularly the first which came from an error in possession by Rhys Shelly.

All in all though, it was a more than satisfactory beginning to the league campaign for Tipperary.

There were excellent performances throughout the pitch with Willie Connors and Craig Morgan dominating the middle of the pitch, while Eoghan Connolly, Ronan Maher, and Sam O’Farrell all excelling.

Further up the pitch is where the most encouragement will come from the full forward line with Andrew Ormond, Darragh McCarthy, and Dylan Walsh running themselves ragged all game, setting the tone in the first half for the team performance and workrate.

Walsh in particular had some fine moments, winning the penalty for Darragh McCarthy in the first half before hitting 1-2 in the second half including that brilliant finish for the third and decisive goal.

Tipperary and Liam Cahill will be happy with the start and they will now move on to prepare for their first home game of the league next weekend against Wexford.

Scorers: Tipperary: Darragh McCarthy (1-6, 0-5f, 0-1 65, 1-0 pen), Dylan Walsh, Gearoid O’Connor 1-3 each, Willie Connors 0-3, Craig Morgan, Jake Morris, Andrew Ormond, Sam O’Farrell all 0-2 each, Ronan Maher, Joe Fogarty 0-1 each.

Galway: Rory Burke 0-4f, Declan McLoughlin, John Fleming 1-0 each, Oisin Lohan, Conor Whelan, 0-3 each, Kevin Cooney (0-2, 0-1 sl-cut), Cianan Fahy, TJ Brennan, Tom Monaghan, Liam Collins all 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Michael Corcoran, Eoghan Connolly, Michael Breen; Sam O’Farrell, Ronan Maher, Brian McGrath; Craig Morgan, Willie Connors; Alan Tynan, Jake Morris, Gearoid O’Connor; Andrew Ormond, Darragh McCarthy, Dylan Walsh.

Subs used: Robert Doyle for Corcoran (HT); Conor Bowe for Ormond (52); Joe Fogarty for Tynan (55); Seamus Kennedy for McGrath (58); Conor Martin for O’Connor (64).

Galway: Eanna Murphy; Jack Grealish, Fintan Burke, Seán Murphy; Michael Garvey, Shane Cooney, TJ Brennan; Cianan Fahy, Donal O’Shea; Rory Burke, Tom Monaghan, Oisin Lohan; Conor Whelan, Kevin Cooney, Liam Collins.

Subs used: Cillian Whelan for Garvey (48); John Fleming for O’Shea (48); Declan McLoughlin for K Cooney (53); Shane Morgan for S Cooney (55); Anthony Burns for Collins (69).

Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork)