GAA/Dublin 2-7 Galway 1-8:Yes, there were times yesterday amidst the wind, the sleet, the hail and the snow which battered Parnell Park when we thought about how pleasant it would be to be watching cricket in Jamaica. In the end though the sacrifice was worth it.
Two counties in the throes of nascent hurling revolutions squared up. Dublin, whose day might be less imminent, but just as necessary, prevailed.
Around Dublin hurling there has been a discernable buzz for some time. There have also in the 46 years since the county's last All Ireland appearance been a few false dawns. What renders the quality of hope different this time is the youth and skill of Tommy Naughton's side, the work done from Parnell Park in recent years by Mike Connolly and the suspicion that football has stolen as many fine hurlers as it can accommodate.
Yesterday's win over Galway which leaves Dublin the only unbeaten side in Division One was founded not just on firm physicality but also on skill, resilience and a discernible pattern of play. In defence and at midfield Dublin matched and often bettered Galway. For long periods the home side's forwards struggled but in an exhilarating final quarter they produced the scores.
Ger Loughnane had experimented with his line-up yesterday without being reduced to fielding novices. His side scored just four points in the first half while playing with (among other elements) a howling wind.
Dublin for their part had managed just a point but Loughnane could, if had chosen to, point to Galway ten wides and the extraordinary keeping of Dublin's Gary Maguire whose saves prevented at least three goals.
In front of Maguire the full back line was on three siren alert all during the half but coped well. The half backs Mikey Carton, Ronan Fallon and Derek O'Reilly were uniformly excellent, holding the Galway starting half forwards scoreless from play.
At midfield the young pairing of John McCaffrey and Joey Boland did more to copperfasten the notion that they will own the positions for the next ten years barring calamity or artistic differences. They outhurled David Forde and Fergal Healy and looked as good and as skilful as anyone on the field.
Dublin began the second half well with two points from David Curtin frees but by now Loughnane was busy shuffling the deck . Eugene Cloonan was in as was Alan Kerins and Damien Hayes. But Dublin never flinched.
Cloonan had restored Galway to a two point lead when a long ball from Derek O'Reilly fell loose to Padraig O'Driscoll who pulled not too heavily but accurately to the far corner of the Galway goal. Dublin were ahead by a point and suddenly with 20 minutes left here was a sense of genuine momentum.
Points followed from substitute and Fitzgibbon Cup star Kevin O'Reilly and O'Driscoll to put the Dubs a goal clear.
Then came the sort of haymaker from which Dublin teams in the past have often failed to recover. A rare misjudged ground pull in the Dublin defence let Damien Hayes set up Niall Healy for a well taken goal. Level. Then Alan Kerins pointed at the end of a move in which the Dublin defence had been opened up.
David Curtin and Alan Kerins swapped points and Cloonan scored to leave Galway 1-08 to 1-06 ahead with eight minutes left. Then Dublin found something extra. Liam Ryan busy all afternoon cut inside on a solo run which in the habit of Dublin hurling teams seemed destined to end in tears. Instead he found the gaps before kicking home past the surprised Liam Donoghue.
Dublin's Eoin Moran had suffered what looked ominously like a cruciate injury and a five minute chunk of injury-time meant there was still work to be done. Stuart Mullen, a late sub, pulled down high ball though and added another point to give Dublin a two-point cushion.
In a cliffhanging finish Phillip Brennan and Maguire came together to deny Cloonan a goal at the death. Dickie Murphy blew the final whistle and joy was generally unconfined. "It's nice that we followed up the draw with Kilkenny," said Tommy Naughton afterwards. "That was the most pleasing thing, a bit of consistency and the way we played. We kept our heads when Galway got the goal. It's a good win but we have to keep it going."
DUBLIN:G Maguire; P Brennan, S Hiney, T Brady; M Carton, R Fallon, D O'Reilly; J Boland, J McCaffrey; L Ryan (1-0),D Qualter, D Curtin (0-2, frees);J Kelly, P O'Driscoll (1-2), K Flynn (0-1). Subs: K O'Reilly (0-1)for Kelly (44 mins), E Moran for Curtin (62 mins), T Moore for McCAffrey (62 mins), S Mullen for Moran 66 mins
GALWAY:L Donoghue; F Moore, S Kavanagh, D Joyce; D Hardiman, T Og Regan, C Dervan; D Forde, F Healy; K Burke, M Kerins (0-1),D Tierney; K Brady, G Farragher, N Healy (1-3) Subs: E Cloonan (0-2)for Farragher (34 mins), D Hayes for K Burke (half-time) A Kerins (0-2)for K Brady (half-time)
Referee: D Murphy(Wexford)
