A SHREWD switch of tactics by Galway coach Cyril Farrell turned this match at Thurles in his side's favour.
Joe Cooney, at odds with himself for some time now as far as intercounty hurling is concerned, was struggling at midfield, while Michael Coleman was also off form at centre forward. The decision to switch them worked well. Coleman, in particular, blossomed in the second half.
The perfect playing surface and a favourable climate didn't manage to lift the spirits of the layers. There was a decided lack of urgency in the play in this game.
Perhaps the attitude of the coaches or managers had filtered through to the players. In the aftermatch interviews neither Farrell nor Len Gaynor of Tipperary seemed overly anxious about the result. Both insisted that the championship was their goal.
The GAA may soon have to insist that people in authority be told to stop playing down the National Leagues.
Galway scored the only goal of the game, and it was an important one. Half time was beckoning when Coleman slashed a sideline cut deep into Tipperary territory and Joe Rabbitte smuggled the ball to Justin Campbell, who flicked it on to Ollie who drove the sliotar powerfully to the net.
Earlier, Galway had looked the livelier team and the excellent freetaking by Darragh Coen had kept them in control for most of the first half. But Aidan Flanagan, the Tipperary free taker, brought the sides level on five points each after 20 minutes.
Points from Flanagan, from a free, and Tomas Dunne from play gave Tipperary the lead for the first time in the match, and Liam Sheedy drove the ball over from 80 yards in the 24th minute. Then came the Galway goal.
Tipperary edged ahead in the middle of the second half, but two points by Kevin Broderick and Coen put Galway ahead 1-13 to 0-15. A draw seemed on the cards when inspirational work by an otherwise sluggish John Leahy, who had come in as a substitute, brought Tipperary level again by the 27th minute.
After dreadful misses by Rabbitte and Leahy, Galway snatched the points with scores from the excellent Campbell and the consistent Coen.
