Brian Dooher doesn't score many goals. Yesterday, however, he could have had a hat-trick as Tyrone made a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to rescue their league campaign. Dooher was handed three glorious second-half chances by Peter Canavan, but unfortunately for Tyrone, the former All-Star Martin McNamara was back in the Galway goal. McNamara pulled off two superlative saves, one in injury time when his side held a slender two-point lead.
Galway fully deserved their win, for they always looked the more positive, despite conceding a 29th-minute goal to Damien Gormley. However, it was Tyrone who made all the early running, with Paul McLaughlin, a late replacement for injured captain Pascal Canavan, Eoin Gormley, Peter Canavan and Damien Gormley putting them into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. Then Galway suddenly clicked into gear.
Two wonderful points, one from each wing from Niall Finnegan, inspired Galway. Padraig Joyce and Paul Clancy added scores, and Derek Savage gave the Connacht side the lead for the first time on 28 minutes. That lead was to be short-lived.
A minute later Damien Gormley, recalled to the Tyrone side after a three-year absence, punched Eoin Gormley's cross into the Galway net. But Galway hit back in lively fashion, Finnegan and Joyce knocking over points to level the scores. Then a brilliant long-range point in injury time from Paul Clancy, and another from Finnegan, with his fourth of the game, gave Galway a 0-10 to 1-5 interval lead.
It took Tyrone, now playing with the wind, almost 10 minutes to score in the second half. Stephen O'Neill pointed, after shooting a succession of wides. As Tyrone continued to press forward, McNamara was called upon to keep his side in the game with a brilliant save from Dooher. Derek Savage promptly restored Galway's two-point advantage with a neatly flicked point, but another Stephen O'Neill score reduced the gap to a point, before Padraig Joyce replied with a free.
With Gary Fahy restricting Peter Canavan in Tyrone's attack, Galway looked the more likely to prevail, particularly after Clancy hit another point. Canavan did finally manage to shake off Fahy to twice send Dooher through. First he flashed a low shot just wide, then McNamara came to the rescue again with a second spectacular save. Ciaran McBride scooped the rebound over the bar.
Galway: M McNamara; T Meehan, G Fahy, R Fahy; E Daly, J Divilly, S Og de Paor; S O Domhnaill, K Walsh; J Fallon, J Bergin, P Clancy (0-4); D Savage (0-3), P Joyce (0-3), N Finnegan (0-4). Subs: L Colleran for Walsh, D meehan for Daly, J Donnellan (0-1) for Fallon.
Tyrone: F McConnell; C Gourley, C Lawn, P Devlin; C Holmes, S McCallan, S McLaughlin; P McLaughlin (0-1), C McAnallen; B Dooher, E Gormley (0-3), S O'Neill (0-3); D Gormley (1-1), P Canavan (0-1), C McBride (0-1). Subs: K Howe for Lawn, C McGinley for S McLaughlin, R McMenamin for Devlin, B Meenan for McCallan, S Lawn for P McLaughlin.
Referee: S McCormack (Meath).
