Murray’s charges not at their best in toppling Tipperary

Tipperary 0-12

Eanna O’Reilly at Croke Park

FOR the first time since 1998, the Galway senior camogie team qualified for a third consecutive All-Ireland final appearance. They did so with a four-point victory over a gallant Tipperary side, on a day when the Tribeswomen got the rub of the green to help them over the line.

An unconvincing performance saw Galway scrape through after a major test from a relatively inexperienced Tipp team, playing in Croke Park for the first time since 2006. Relief was undoubtedly the strongest emotion for the women in maroon after the full-time whistle at Croke Park on Sunday.

Galway will have to improve their performance levels enormously for their All-Ireland Final clash with Cork on September 12, if they are toregain the O’Duffy Cup. The manner in which Tipp dominated in numerous positions on Sunday, particularly in the second half, was a major cause for concern, as were Galway’s flat spells during the game.

For much of the game, Galway’s link up play was quite disjointed, with a lack of sharpness in possession characterising their performance. Galway struggled to get a foothold in the middle third and the ball winning stakes were dominated by Tipp’s half back line for long spells.

The policy of playing with two players in the full forward line was limited in its effectiveness. Although Galway opened Tipp up on a couple of occasions, their own formation generally limited what should have been a major goal threat, as emphasised by the few occasions when they committed more players forward.

Galway’s third quarter drop off in big games returned to undermine them once again, with the same script playing out on Sunday. After going into the half-time break with a four-point lead, Galway allowed Tipp to take over after the resumption, as they failed to score for 15 minutes.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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