Dublin  2-18

Galway 0-17

By Kevin Egan at O’Connor Park

The hard and dry surface of O’Connor Park last Wednesday showed all the signs of the ongoing spell of warm weather which showed little sign of ending.

In the dressing room underneath the terrace after the game, one look at a distraught Fergal Healy would leave a late arrival to the Tullamore venue in no doubt that Galway’s drought at U-20/U-21 hurling level wasn’t going to break in 2025 either.

Since the Tribesmen won just the county’s second ever All-Ireland minor title all the way back in 1992, Galway have never had two back-to-back seasons without reaching an All-Ireland final at that grade. At U-21/U-20 level, however, the county has been in just two All-Ireland deciders in the last 15 years, losing both by double figure margins.

Several groups have come and gone, failing to deliver on their potential. Considering the manner of their defeat in this fixture, taking on a Dublin side that was without their best player (David Purcell), the pain of defeat cut that much deeper for Healy and his players.

“It’s hugely disappointing, there’s no-one more disappointed and aware of all this than us. We have to take responsibility for it, the lads didn’t perform today and we’ll take responsibility for that, we just didn’t get it right,” admitted the Craughwell man.

“That’s myself as a manager, and the management team. I couldn’t fault the players, the players have been unbelievable all year, they’ve given us everything and it just didn’t run for them today.”

To say that it didn’t run for Galway in the second-half would be a fairer assessment. Dublin’s fast start certainly put the favourites on the back foot, with Callum Graham picking off two early goals, including one where he somehow extricated himself from three Galway tacklers with his back to goal, before batting the sliotar past Donagh Fahy.

That said, after falling 2-2 to 0-1 behind, Galway took control of the game for the remainder of the first-half, outscoring Dublin by 10 points to six for the remainder of the half, despite hurling into a very strong breeze.

Conor Lawless picked off an excellent point striding forward; Brian Callanan looked sharp; the Galway midfield of Rory Burke and Paddy Mac Cárthaigh were hurling a world of ball and picking off scores; and while Conor Groarke and David Lucey were putting in heroic shifts up against Vince Morgan and Aaron Niland, overall the game was being played on Galway’s terms, and a three-point advantage looked wholly inadequate, given the strength of the wind.

Pictured: Galway’s Conor Lawless and Callum Graham of Dublin in a race for possession during the Leinster U-20 semi-final in Tullamore. Photo: Joe Keane.