Stephen O'Keeffe: Never had a save to make so his day came down to puck-outs. Solid enough in the first half but as Waterford went more conventional late on, the Galway half-backs dominated.
Rating 6
Shane Fives: Some very shaky moments. Conor Cooney beasted him for an early point and he later got Tadhg de Burca in trouble, causing panic that ended in a David Burke score.
Rating 5
Barry Coughlan: Started the day wrestling with Johnny Glynn and eventually saw the Galway full-forward off. Not as strong against Glynn's replacement Niall Burke, who had a major impact.
Rating 6
Noel Connors: One of the few Waterford success stories from the afternoon. Kept his end up manfully and erased Conor Whelan from the game almost entirely. Nailed on for an All Star.
Rating 8
Tadhg de Burca: Lorded the game in the first half once Waterford finally got settled. Princely in the air and his distribution was generally sound. Kept pushing Waterford forward.
Rating 7
Austin Gleeson: Game passed him by. Coursed by the Waterford management throughout the first half as they tried to cajole him into the contest. Looked like a young, lost player out there.
Rating 4
Philip Mahony: Put in a dependable shift at wing-back. Didn't get on a huge amount of ball but kept his man well occupied and was always in around the breaks in the Waterford defence.
Rating 6
Jamie Barron: Stormed into it in the second half, after David Burke had outplayed him. Stitched two points from play, set Pauric Mahony up for another, got fouled for a handy free.
Rating 7
Kieran Bennett: The goal goes down against his name but he can't take a huge amount of credit for it. Did okay in the Waterford half-back line after a shaky start. Conor Gleeson was missed though.
Rating 5
Kevin Moran: Faded as the game wore on, possibly down to his efforts to keep Waterford in touch early on. Took his goal beautifully and added a further point. Couple of bad misses.
Rating 7
Pauric Mahony: Looked for a spell early in the second half like he was going to take over the game, scoring their first five points after the break. Missed one at the wrong time though.
Rating 6
Jake Dillon: Thankless role, fighting for high ball, often when he was outnumbered three-to-one. Did his usual run-into-the-ground job without ever having much effect on the game.
Rating 5
Shane Bennett: Was carrying his injury for almost 10 minutes before being replaced by Maurice Shanahan. Made a nuisance of himself for his brother Kieran's goal but no great involvement otherwise.
Rating 5
Michael Walsh: Galway did well to curb his influence. Scored one terrific point in the first half from the Cusack Stand sideline but wasn't able to impose himself as he usually does.
Rating 6
Darragh Fives: Set Kevin Moran up for an early point after he was second favourite to turn over a Galway ball. But could do little enough to staunch the flow of Galway points in defence.
Rating 5
Substitutes: Tommy Ryan and Brian O'Halloran scored a couple of magic points to give them hope, Maurice Shanahan provided more of a focal point than Shane Bennett had.
Rating 7
Management: Will be disappointed that it was Galway who got out to such a strong start. Were onto Gleeson for ages to get into the game - might have been better switching him to full-forward.
Rating 6
