Tipperary 1-28

Galway 2-17

THE supporters who have been deserting Galway senior hurlers in their droves over the past couple of seasons will feel vindicated by the deflating events at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening.

But any sense of smugness would be sadly misplaced as Galway hurling is currently in the midst of a full-blown crisis after a disastrous summer at all levels of the inter-county arena.

A disappointing All-Ireland quarter-final in front of a miserable crowd of 15,414 broke the cycle of tight championship matches between Galway and Tipperary as Liam Cahill’s team coasted home by eight points.

We had tried to be positive about Galway’s chances of a fourth consecutive championship win over Tipperary despite a plethora of heavy losses in 2025, four of which were by a dozen points.

At one stage of the recent Leinster final, Galway were 13 points adrift and haemorrhaging, only for a belated rally salvaging a modicum of pride. It should have given them something to cling to heading into the Tipp game.

Instead, we got another calamitous display, typified by horrendous turnovers – Tipperary got 14 points from Galway losing possession – and a barrage of wasteful shooting which saw the Tribesman amass a crippling 16 wides.

With a conversion rate of only 27% and murdered under puck outs – not once did a Galway player make a clean catch – most of the elite teams would have made hay against them.

Tipperary, bound for their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2019, were hardly anything special – their defence coughed up loads of chances – but the team’s forwards possessed a far greater cutting edge despite a high tally of 14 wides.

The statistics don’t lie. Tipperary got 23 scores from play, Galway only managed eight, and only the gallant Cathal Mannion and substitute Tom Monaghan found the target more the once on an evening when the team’s old guard were badly exposed.

Apart from the win over Dublin at Parnell Park, there was little substance behind Galway’s form over the past couple of months. Supporters started voting with their feet and felt disenfranchised too by a tone-deaf team management.

Everybody assumed that there would be a major shake up to the team from the Leinster final and though changes were made, some were of the head scratching variety. How TJ Brennan, in particular, and Monaghan – two instinctive bundles of energy – were demoted was mind-boggling.

Essentially, Galway still ended up with a half-back line of three unnatural defenders, while the lack of pace inside them wasn’t addressed either. No wonder, Jake Morris, Andrew Ormond, Jason Forde and John McGrath scored points for sport.

Maybe, the team management were caught between a rock and hard place in constituting their squad. Loyalty to some great servants was understandable but Galway still fielded a team with over half a dozen survivors from the 2017 All-Ireland final.

It’s not today or yesterday that the lack of mobility has stalked the men in maroon, while there is also a clear lack of belief and confidence in their ranks. How else can one account for five consecutive demoralising wides after Colm Molloy’s quality second half goal.

Pictured: Galway’s Colm Molloy is tackled by Craig Morgan of Tipperary during Saturday’s All-Ireland Senior Hurling quarter-final at the Gaelic Grounds, Photos: Ray McManus/Sportsfile.