Galway 1-16

Dublin 2-13

(Galway win 2-1 on penalties)

By Paul Keane at Parnell Park

DECLAN McLaughlin was pulled for over-carrying in the early minutes of Saturday’s Walsh Cup Final at Parnell Park, a harsh enough call after gathering the ball well.

It happened right in front of the Galway dugout and prompted a lively discussion between the two managers. Perhaps Niall O Ceallachain was filling Micheál Donoghue in on what it’s been like since he succeeded him as Dublin manager but given the body language and the gesticulating, we doubt it.

After that, nobody was in much doubt about how much winning meant to both teams, even on the 17th day of January. It wasn’t championship fare, of course, the heavy sod, pre-season fitness levels and experimental nature of both teams ensured that. But it was a useful outing and a satisfying win at the end of it all given the increasing rivalry between the two counties.

Conor Cooney punched the air in celebration when he converted a free from well inside his own half to level the game as the clock ticked into the fifth minute of stoppage time, necessitating a penalty shoot-out.

There were groans among the Galway contingent in the modest crowd when Dublin’s Donal Burke netted the first penalty and Eanna Murphy sent his wide. But the cheers returned five or so minutes later when Colm Molloy found the net and Dublin’s Ronan Hayes subsequently missed, securing a 2-1 win on penalties for Galway.

It was the first time penalties decided a Walsh Cup final and, perhaps, the last time the competition will be played. Scrapping pre-season competitions is tied up in the motion going to Congress to extend the inter-county season into August.

That would leave Darren Morrissey, formally announced as Galway captain a matter of hours beforehand, as the last man to lift the tin, joining Conor Whelan (2023), Padraic Mannion (2019), David Collins (2015) and Shane Kavanagh (2010) by doing so on behalf of Galway.

Did Galway deserve it? Just about. But there wasn’t a whole pile in it and Dublin will regret the 16 wides they tallied over the hour or so. Last season’s All-Ireland semi-finalists also had a couple of goal chances, aside from the ones that Ollie Gaffney and Donal Burke took.

Despite all their misses, Dublin were still ahead in the depths of stoppage time after outscoring Galway 0-5 to 0-1 between the 45th and 62nd minutes. No wonder Cooney was so happy to take it to penalties.

Pictured: Galway’s Ronan Glennon tries to halt the progress of Dublin’s Tom Brennan during Sunday’s Walsh Cup Final at Parnell Park.