Tipperary - 4-13 Galway -1-17: It was, as the saying goes, déjà vu all over again. Once more, Galway were eliminated from the league by Tipperary and for long spells at Thurles yesterday, this encounter mirrored that of last season for anti-climax and listlessness and downright strangeness.

That Galway, dealing with the late withdrawal of Mark Kerins and held to a sorry two points in the first half, out-shot the All-Ireland champions in the second half, was of small consolation to the 23,524 who might have expected good sport in beautiful conditions. But this game never really felt like any real contest.

"It was strange, the whole game was played in a complete vacuum," noted Nicky English afterwards.

"I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. The result isn't really important here but performance is."

It was an unsettling day for both camps. English watched his full forward John O'Brien expose Galway's fragile back line with two goals, including an awesome first- half strike which was Careyesque in imagination and execution. The promise of an adequate summer replacement for the retired Declan Ryan was wiped out, however, by O'Brien's retirement with a shattered thumb. His withdrawal 10 minutes from time was preceded by Eddie Enright's departure with a badly broken finger. English admitted that both men will not now be available when Tipperary begin their championship defence.

However, O'Brien's hour of precocity will have done little to comfort Noel Lane in his efforts to settle his back line. They were left flat from the start. A 17-second goal by Lar Corbett, who zoomed through a leaden Galway defence and struck a lovely goal, initiated a half that saw Tipp run ribbons around their opponents. With Mark Kerins conspicuous in his absence following the decision to drop his brother Alan off the panel, the talk around Thurles was of unhappiness within the squad. However, Noel Lane clarified the position of the Clarinbridge forward afterwards.

"Mark is sick. He told me earlier in the week that he had flu and I knew yesterday evening he would not be available for this game. As far as I am concerned, he has not left the panel and I expect he will be with us for the championship."

Lane admitted that while preparation for this game had been distracted by the high-profile conclusion to Alan Kerins' involvement with the hurling panel, he was adamant it had not been a factor in the loss.

"We had a chat at half-time and the lads were a bit dispirited. I'm proud of the way they responded, scoring 1-15 and getting back to within three points at one stage. But Tipp were tremendous, deserved to win, and will be very difficult to stop again this year. The league hasn't gone well for us, we have been very uneven but it's over now."

While Galway's second-half improvement was marked after the half-time oranges, it was tough to evaluate given the contained manner of Tipperary's game. However, Joe Rabbitte thrived when moved outfield and Damien Hayes, whose game is so redolent in style and energy of that of the injured Kevin Broderick, impressed with three points during Galway's healing period. Richie Murray had a useful game and Eugene Cloonan quietly went about gathering another phenomenal personal tally. Liam Hodgins rolled up the sleeves and Richie Murray had a consistent game.

"I don't think there is a whole lot wrong with us and I believe we'll be there or thereabout," said Lane in summing up.

It is probably as well not to read too much into this for the statistics are jarring. As well as their healthy final score, Tipperary blasted a further 15 opportunities wide. And yet half of their original forward line - Cahill, O'Leary and Carroll - failed to score. Galway's total of five wides might appear admirably frugal in comparison but also gives further example of how utterly Tipp overran them at times.

The timing of Tipperary's final goal, cancelling out a sustained period of Galway pressure that brought four unanswered points, deepened the suspicion that Tipperary were content to cruise and would have pulled away again had the result been under threat.

However, it was the 68th minute when Galway managed to reduce the lead to three and then Brian O'Meara stormed in for a goal after Brian Higgins was caught in possession.

However, as Lane observed, the share of the goals was possibly a little unfair. O'Brien's second was a messy, scrambled thing after John Carroll's original flick while in the first half, Brendan Cummins completed a pair of miracle saves to deny snap shots from Cloonan and Fergal Healy. Galway did beat him just after the break when Cloonan sailed over the napping Philip Maher and somehow got accuracy and ash to a long ball.

The subsequent lapse that afflicted the entire team bothered English and he noted that such inconsistency has been a bothersome feature of Tipperary's early form. Still, the All-Ireland champions are moving along nicely and the core of the team is firmly bolted. Galway, for all the skill and dash, seem to have further to travel in order to achieve the same level of cohesion and solidity.

But as last year signifies, these tame meetings usually mean nothing in the long run.

TIPPERARY: B Cummins; T Costello, P Maher, P Ormonde; E Corcoran, D Kennedy, B Dunne; E Enright, N Morris; M O'Leary, J Carroll, L Corbett (1-1); L Cahill, J O'Brien (2-1), E Kelly (0-11, 10 frees). Subs: M Ryan for Enright (41 mins, inj.), P Kelly for Dunne (50, inj.), B O'Meara (1-0) for O'Leary (59), E O'Neill for O'Brien (61, inj.).

GALWAY: L Donoghue; B Higgins, M Healy, O Canning; D O'Brien, L Hodgins, C Moore; T Gantley, D Tierney; R Murray (0-2), F Forde; D Hayes (0-3); E Cloonan (1-9, 7 frees), J Rabbitte (0-3), F Healy. Subs: N Hayes for Forde (half-time), D Shaugnessy for F Healy (64 mins).

Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath).