Donoghue's Galway on 'a really good trajectory' as they book Leinster SHC final spot

Irish Examiner

26-05-2025

Leinster SHC: Galway 0-29 Dublin 3-15
For a fuller understanding of just how deserving Galway were of their first ever Championship win over Dublin in the capital, disregard the scoreline. It suggests a tighter game than this was.
Consider that Micheal Donoghue's visiting side were 12 points to the good with 63 minutes on the clock and you'll be closer to the reality.
It was supposed to be blood and thunder, a de facto Leinster semi-final between two teams with similar recent records and a history of close encounters.
We hoped for a repeat of 2019, when Dublin won an epic at the same venue, but what we got was more like 2017, when Galway beat Dublin out the gates of Tullamore.
Galway won the All-Ireland that year but we'll not go as far as to suggest they can do so again. Even a terrific performance from 2017 captain David Burke, and Conor Whelan playing himself into good form, as well as a neat display from Tom Monaghan and cameos from Cianan Fahy and Brian Concannon, wouldn't suggest MacCarthy Cup gains.
They were impressive though and their fourth straight win since limping out of Nowlan Park after an anaemic Round 1 loss to Kilkenny gives Galway hope ahead of their June 8 rematch in the Leinster final at Croke Park.
"For us, it's been a really good trajectory over the last couple of weeks and we're just glad we're going into a Leinster final now," said Galway manager Donoghue. "It will give less experienced fellas the chance to be involved in a Leinster final and that can only be good for them as they move forward as players."
It was a curious encounter for Donoghue who had a two-season spell in charge of Dublin, in 2023 and 2024.
"The experience we had here in Dublin for two years was absolutely top," said Donoghue. "We made loads of friends for life and I think that was evident today."
Donoghue managed Dublin to a win over Galway last season. This time around, he gave Dublin a taste of their own medicine.
Dublin looked flat and fatigued, perhaps still drained by their epic with Kilkenny a week earlier. They were 16 points down at one stage in the second-half of that game and battled back to make it a two-point match late on.
This time, they reduced a 12-point gap to five thanks to late goals from Sean Currie, a penalty conversion, and substitute Conal O Riain.
The difference was that Dublin left Kilkenny feeling they could have won that game. They were flattered to lose by five here.
"In the first-half, we had the elements and on a day like that we needed to be five, six, seven points up but we weren't," said Dublin manager Niall O Ceallachain. The sides actually turned on level terms, 1-7 to 0-10, with Dublin having drilled eight first-half wides despite the strong wind behind them.
It got even stronger in the second-half and Galway capitalised. Eight different Galway players scored in the second-half with captain Whelan lording it.
"While we had a surge at the end, I think we were well, well beaten there," acknowledged O Ceallachain.
Dublin still have an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final tie to prepare for, against Kildare or Laois. That's not until June 14/15 so their batteries should be fully recharged by then.
Galway could be Leinster champions at that stage though they will anticipate a much stiffer test from Kilkenny.
Donoghue made five switches after hammering Antrim in Round 4 and will be happy with the shape, balance and energy of his team.
They had a nightmare spell between the 17th and 19th minutes, conceding 1-3, and the two goals flew in within a matter of 90 seconds at the death.
Aside from that they set the terms of engagement, getting plenty of bodies back in the first-half to break up Dublin's running game, and also to prevent them from hitting towering inside men like John Hetherton.
The eight wides further undermined Dublin's efforts. Poor control and errant passes let Dublin down at other times, like captain Chris Crummey passing straight to a Galway player who knocked the ball forward for Concannon to grab a score.
And as the scores flew over, Galway's confidence increased. Whelan boomed over some beauties from the right in the second-half. Burke and Cianan Fahy nailed a couple of monster scores too.
Dublin will kick themselves for making it so easy. If you'd told them beforehand that they'd score three goals and hold Cathal Mannion scoreless, with home advantage, they'd have bitten your hand off. But they still couldn't deliver.
Scorers for Galway: C Mannion 0-8 (8 frees); B Concannon 0-5; T Monaghan 0-4; C Whelan, David Burke 0-3 each; C Fahy 0-2; S Linnane, A Burns, TJ Brennan, C Cooney 0-1 each.
Scorers for Dublin: S Currie 1-6 (1 pen, 4 frees, 1 65); R McBride 1-1; C O Riain 1-0; C O'Sullivan 0-3; C Donohoe, A Jamieson-Murphy, C Crummey, P Doyle, B Hayes 0-1 each.
GALWAY: D Fahy; P Mannion, F Burke, D Burke; C Fahy, G Lee, TJ Brennan; D Burke, S Linnane; J Fleming, T Monaghan, C Whelan; B Concannon, C Mannion, A Burns.
Subs: C Cooney for Fleming (22-25, blood); J Grealish for Daithi Burke (48); T Killeen for Fleming (60); Cooney for Burns (60); R Glennon for Linnane (70).
DUBLIN: S Brennan; P Smyth, C McHugh, J Bellew; C Donohoe, C Crummey, P Doyle; C Burke, B Hayes; R McBride, C O'Sullivan, D Power; S Currie, J Hetherton, A Jamieson-Murphy.
Subs: R Hayes for Murphy (46); C Currie for Power (51); D Lucey for Bellew (55); F Whitely for Burke (58); C O Riain for Doyle (68-69, blood); O Riain for B Hayes (70).
Referee: C Lyons (Cork).