Galway defeated Tyrone on Saturday in the first round of the All-Ireland championship group stage by 0-16 to 0-13.
On a drab day in Salthill, the rain which arrived a couple of hours before the game contributed to a relatively dull affair. Galway never looked like losing, and Tyrone never really looked like winning, particularly after Frank Burns’ early dismissal for a poorly-timed challenge on Galway’s Jack Glynn.
Galway led by three points at the time of Burns’ dismissal, and even after Niall Morgan’s black card, there was never any real urgency from either side to kick on and really go for it.
This was the type of game that could unfortunately define this new group-stage experiment for the GAA.
With three teams initially advancing from each group, both teams knew there was still a good chance they would, at the very least, progress to a preliminary quarter-final if they were able to win one game. Galway’s win means if they beat Westmeath in Mullingar on June 3, at worst they will have a home preliminary quarter-final. If they continue and beat Armagh in the final group game, they will go straight through to knockout football. Tyrone, on the other hand, after a poor 2022 and poor start to 2023 knew if they got back to basics and built a solid platform, then their final group game against Westmeath would most likely determine which team would continue to a preliminary game and which would be knocked out.
Galway lost Jack Glynn to a concussion from Burns’ challenge, but there was more concern about his jaw, according to manager Padraic Joyce, who was also disappointed in his side’s display.
"It was a poor performance overall by us. At the same time, we stuck at it. We probably were the better team on the day, but I wouldn’t be overly excited about the performance that we put in there," he said.
Galway also lost Dylan McHugh in the first half in what looked more of a precautionary measure, and captain Seán Kelly looked to be struggling with a hamstring issue late in the game.
Galway’s defence, which has been so resilient throughout the year, could be hampered if injuries to three of their starting backs cause issues in the long term.
Joyce and his management team have also continued building a squad, as evidenced by Cathal Sweeney stepping in for Glynn, while Rob Finnerty came on for McHugh with Johnny Heaney seamlessly slipping into a more defensive role.
Shane Walsh showed signs of coming back to his best form with six points, and Cillian McDaid appears to be thriving this year in his return to wing-back due to both Kieran Molloy’s injury and John Maher’s brilliant form.
Connor Gleeson had another solid performance, and appears to be thriving with the pressure being applied by Bernie Power. Galway had a high return off of their kick-outs and Gleeson is showing his growing confidence in his ability to claim the high balls in his area.
Galway’s match against Westmeath has been fixed for Saturday evening June 3 at 3pm in Cusack Park Mullingar, while in the other first round game of this group, Armagh face Westmeath on Saturday May 27 in the Athletic Grounds in Armagh at 4.45pm
