For the sixth time in 10 years the Galway senior hurlers take on Tipperary in a knock-out championship game on Saturday evening (6.15pm ), with the TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick the venue on this occasion.
The counties last meeting in 2020 came at the same ground and stage of the competition, with Galway emerging victorious by 3-23 to 2-24. But lest we forget, this game was played in the surreal environment of an empty stadium. Saturday’s game is likely to be a sell-out, with Clare and Dublin locking horns beforehand in the other quarter final.
Galway have won three of those five games but the last four meetings in particular have been extremely tight affairs, with only a point separating the sides in each of the epic semi-finals between 2015 and 2017. Who will ever forget Joe Canning’s point that propelled Galway towards Liam McCarthy glory?
The form book can pretty much be thrown out the window when these two counties meet, with both parties needing little motivation. Bragging rights are very much at stake here, as well as a crack at a Limerick side which is beginning to show some chinks in its formidable armour.
After a bizarrely limp performance against Waterford, which caught the whole country by surprise and cost Liam Cahill’s men a place in the Munster final, Tipperary sought vengeance against Offaly in Tullamore last weekend and racked up the largest score ever in All-Ireland championship history, winning by 7-38 to 3-18.
That only seven of those 45 scores came from placed balls is perhaps the most impressive statistic, with Jason Forde marking his return after injury with a haul of 2-11. Mark Kehoe hit 3-3 while Jake Morris claimed 0-7, but will the facile nature of this outing have prepared Cahill’s charges for the far sterner challenges Galway will pose?
Tipperary showed their potential when rattling in five goals away to Clare in the opening round of the Munster championship, before sharing the spoils with both Cork and Limerick. Viewed through one prism, it could be said this is a team with only one meaningful win to its name, but Galway are also pretty much in the same boat.
Will the scars from Cillian Buckley’s dramatic late strike in the Leinster final have made this group of Galway players more determined than ever to succeed? Henry Shefflin will be very much hoping that is the case and will no doubt focus on the positives from many elements of their second half performance against his native county.
Galway were again at their best when the contest became less structured in the white heat of battle, and they began winning the physical duels in the middle third. An aerial attack, however, could struggle to yield dividends against the likes of Ronan Maher, so Galway will need a fresh plan to best utilise the talents of Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon, Kevin Cooney, and Evan Niland.
While the spotlight was rightly on Whelan for his efforts, Cooney and Niland are also hitting top form at just the right time, but will need to make similar contributions on Saturday. Daithí Burke may yet revert back to full back for this contest to stem the flow of scores conceded, and if Galway manage that, they could yet be serious All-Ireland contenders.
