All-Ireland SHC Quarter-final: Surely Tipperary against Galway was yesterday's big game? I would question the idea of playing Kilkenny and Limerick after it. Maybe it was because Kilkenny were Leinster champions but the atmosphere had disintegrated by the time the second match started. It seemed a poor call.

Regardless, fair play to Limerick. Not many expected them to put it up to Kilkenny and if Donie Ryan's goal had been allowed I think they would have won.

Kilkenny arrived very flat. They showed little respect for the occasion and almost paid the price. They were lacklustre in their approach. Maybe being such overwhelming favourites hindered the performance. At this level if you leave your A game at home you can be punished.

The lack of quality in the Limerick team was the difference as they again arrived without an established free-taker. They suffered for this recently against Galway and again yesterday. Peter Lawlor missed two frees in the first half while TJ Ryan was off as well. Remarkably, they still very nearly pulled it off.

A major dampener on the day was the inconsistent performance of the referee, Ger Harrington. Disallowing the goal for DJ's penalty was crazy. Not giving a free for Martin Comerford when a hurl was thrown was another bizarre call. In a tighter game Kilkenny could have paid the price.

Brian Cody was probably worried well before the match started because he would have seen the signs that his team clearly were not up for it. From the very start Henry Shefflin went short from a free. A focused Shefflin would have tapped the ball over the bar and relaxed into the game.

Anyway, they survived.

Hats off to Galway. Yesterday was their first significant championship win since 2001 and they now have a real chance of damaging the off-form Kilkenny backs in the semi-finals.

The key contributor to victory was David Forde at centre forward. He really gave Eamonn Corcoran a torrid time and exposed him for not being a natural centre back. Corcoran filled the gap against Cork but was unable to handle a player who was dropping off the play. Even in the first half, when Tipperary were dominating, Forde was a constant threat.

Galway were by far the superior team in the second half when their backs began to dominate Tipperary's key forwards. Eoin Kelly was switched out to centre forward and did get two points early on but as soon as the Galway half-forward line started dropping back the space disappeared.

Tipperary will wonder. They were in a comfortable position with 15 minutes to go and let it slip. It just goes to show you must keep hurling.

Galway learned this lesson and fully deserved their win. They will take great confidence from it all. I for one tipped Tipperary to come through after a decent Munster championship, especially the comeback against Cork.

Ken Hogan will wonder how it all went wrong in such a short space of time. In the first half, Micheál Webster was totally dominant at full forward. Tommy Dunne got a goal out of nowhere, which only he can get. Paul Kelly was running midfield, while the backs can take credit for the 10 wides from Galway forwards in the opening 35 minutes.

But when Galway dropped their half forwards deep it made the Tipperary half-back line turn. Diarmuid Fitzgerald did get a point but had one of those days when he found himself in the opposing half-back line more than his own patch.

When you have players with sheer pace, like David Tierney, coming at you it is difficult to combat. When they make you turn it is hard to keep track of your man. That's what happened to Tipp.

Damien Hayes got the score that probably turned the whole day. Until his goal, he was getting possession but wasting it. First he gave the pass for Forde's goal, which Brendan Cummins should have saved, and then took his chance after seemingly being tied up by Hugh Moloney. He flicked the corner back aside before bearing down on goal.

Around the same time, Webster went quiet while even Kelly's scores dried up, and though Redser O'Grady came in to score a point with his first touch, and maybe even another that was disallowed, he was pulled off again after racking up a few wides.

This was a poor decision as Tommy Dunne seemed to be fading while at least Redser was getting hold of the ball.

Kilkenny weren't in a clinical frame of mind and against a better team they would have paid the price. Galway could well be that team.