Well, I don't think anyone expected that.
Galway 3-21 - 0-14 Tipperary.
An unbelievable scoreline.
The All-Ireland champions have looked unbeatable at times this season, while Galway stumbled through Division 1B before good performances against Waterford and Limerick in the knockout stages of the competition.
Today, from the first minute, they looked like they were playing a different game than their opponents. Tipp, without Seamus Callanan, were lackluster in attack, scoring just twice from play in the first half and creating no real goal chance until the last minute of the game. A lot of the credit for that goes to the Galways backs who have had a lot of problems with the Tipperary goal threat in their recent championship encounters. They didn't give the likes of John O'Dwyer and John McGrath a sniff today.
In attack, Galway were actually wasteful for much of the game, missing chances in the first half that seemed crucial while we were all still waiting for the Tipp backlash that never came. Jason Flynn was responsible for a lot of those wasted chances, but he more than made up for it with two second half goals. Joe Canning was utterly dominant from centre forward, scoring four of his nine points from play and running the game at times, with the Tipp half back line giving him a perplexing amount of space. Conor Whelan though was probably the star of the day. He scored five brilliant points from play from corner forward and really had the game of his life.
It was Galway at their best, and probably Tipp at their worst, but the manner of victory and the scoreline will give them hugh confidence ahead of the Championship, as well as their first national title since winning the 2010 League.
The reaction from the GAA world was one of shock, as well as being seriously impressed by Galway. All the while. nobody is ready to write Tipp off quite yet.
Galway Tipperary Reaction:
Galway have hammered every hammer worth hammering. The absence of Callanan alone doesn't explain this away for Tipp. Tribe bully Tipp again
— Shane Stapleton (@ShaneSaint) April 23, 2017
Going back to 2003, Tipperary have always been wary of Munster SHC coming so soon after league final. Don't look focused. #GAA
— John Fogarty (@JohnFogartyIrl) April 23, 2017
I'm sure the Tipp management are as mystified as the rest of us. The Premier were flat as pancakes while Galway were intense and skillfull pic.twitter.com/WJf9ymVrWJ
— Oisin Langan (@oisinlangan) April 23, 2017
Well done @Galway_GAA deserving winners.Won the battles across the field.Tipp players have club matches next wknd & then look to Cork #gaa
— Stephen Gleeson (@StephenGleeson_) April 23, 2017
Can we start to get excited about this Galway team now? Played some beautiful hurling today. Sets up the summer nicely.
— Mark Gallagher (@bailemg) April 23, 2017
Hmm might be worth tuning in for the 2017 hurling championship after all.
— Enda McEvoy (@EndaEndamac95) April 23, 2017
Tipperary had a nightmare but 'you're only as good as you're allowed play' comes to mind. Are Galway now potential Liam McCarthy winners?
— Darren O'Neill OLY (@DarrenONeillOLY) April 23, 2017
Galway way more up for this game than Tipp who are trying to play too much fancy hurling.Harsh words needed from michael Ryan at H/t @RTEgaa
— Joe Dooley (@DooleyJoe) April 23, 2017
Jeepers, Galway pumping Tipp will change a few opinions including my own for the months ahead. But then, it's Galway
— David Mohan (@DavidMohan99) April 23, 2017
One sour point on an otherwise positive day for hurling (unless you're from Tipp), was the rather poor attendence figure at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Just over 16,000 for a national final is a poor return for what promised to be a cracking game.
Disappointing attendance of 16,089 today. It was 16,365 when the two counties met at the same venue in the final nine years ago. #GAA
— Pat Nolan (@pat_nolan) April 23, 2017
