Efficient Dublin take the spoils as Galway endure a wasteful night’s shooting

NFL Division One: Dublin 2-19 Galway 2-13

This one was a story of chances missed and chances taken. Dublin were comfortable winners only because they provided their own custom-made cushion. Galway matched them in just about every department of the game except the only one that matters a damn. The wides tally at the end was Dublin four, Galway 11. The home side won by six. Do your own maths.

It maybe wasn’t quite that simple but it wasn’t a whole lot more complicated either. Pádraic Joyce’s side had a rotten night in front of the goals, at least until Damien Comer came off the bench for the last 20 minutes. Dublin might have had a couple more goals and got blocked down more than they would like but compared to Galway, they were the model of efficiency.

“It was basically an early league semi-final so we treated it as a game we wanted to win,” said Joyce. “We don’t go out to lose matches, in case people think we do. But the way we shot at the goal there you’d think we did! First play of the game, we missed a simple kick from 25-20 yards in front of the goal. Then we intercepted a kick-out, we were two on one with the goalkeeper, that ball should have been in the net, simple as that.

“But again, looking at the stats there, we missed 19 shots at goal. In Croke Park you cannot do that, especially against Dublin, they’re the most efficient team that’s ever been out there.”

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For the Dubs, the big news beyond the result was the return of Stephen Cluxton between the sticks. Cluxton, it is always worth reminding ourselves, made his debut for Dublin before 9/11, before we started spending euros, way before there was ever social media. He was playing for Dublin before Theo Clancy and Luke Breathnach, team-mates here playing starring roles at either end of the pitch, were born. He’s been around, he’s seen some stuff.

Was it a coincidence that made his first start of the league after the FRC made it harder for roving goalkeepers to do their thing? Probably. But even if he’d been of a mind to get up the other end of the pitch here, you suspect he’d have decided he had enough on his plate getting used to the new kick-out rules.

Twice in the first half alone, he almost gave away a goal trying to squeeze a short kick-out to the very boundary of the arc – only Galway’s wastefulness spared him the ultimate punishment. Rob Finnerty had a nightmare shooting night, missing an open goal after an admittedly awkward pass from Shane Walsh and dropping two handy balls into Cluxton’s belly.

Walsh wasn’t on it either, dropping a routine free short on the half-hour mark. Both were gone by the start of the second half, a combination of Joyce having seen enough. “They missed about 2-10 between them, so we had to get someone to try and score on the pitch,” was Joyce’s deathless summing-up afterwards.

Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton gives instructions to team-mates during the Allianz Football League Division One game against Galway at Croke Park. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

The contrast with Dublin’s radar could hardly have been greater. From the outset, Dessie Farrell’s team were ruthless in attack. Breathnach has been a terrific find in this league campaign and swung over points from left and right, including a gorgeous two-pointer on the quarter-hour. Con O’Callaghan and Cormac Costello were urgent and spiky, whipping scores at will.

Seán Bugler, too, inserted himself into the game with supreme economy, rolling in two goals with his only two shots of the night. The first came five minute after Finnerty had fluffed the Galway chance, a lovely finish after excellent work from Breathnach. His second came 10 minutes after the break, galloping through on to a one-two with Tom Lahiff. That made it 2-13 to 0-9 and felt like it put the tin lid on the night.

To Galway’s credit, they kept probing the game to see if it had anything left in it for them. Damien Comer came off the bench and set about the Dublin full-back line with a vigilante’s fervour. The first Galway goal came from a catch inside, although John Maher was as surprised as anyone to see his shot deflect in off Theo Clancy.

There was nothing fortunate about the second one though, as Comer made it out of half-nothing. It was an old-style full-forwards goal, calling it on himself in front of the post before turning to rattle Cluxton’s net with a glorious howitzer. In between, corner back Daniel O’Flaherty landed a towering two-pointer and all of a sudden, we had gone from a 10-point stroll to a two-point thriller.

Dublin weren’t in the mood for drama though. They reeled off the next four points in a row through Costello, Cillian McGinnis, Ross McGarry and Cian Murphy and stretched their lead out to 2-17 to 2-11 heading into the last 10 minutes. Comer kept causing the problems the rest of the way but could only conjure up a couple of points as the Dubs kept them at arm’s length.

DUBLIN: Stephen Cluxton; Davy Byrne, Theo Clancy, Conor Tyrrell; Cian Murphy (0-0-2), Seán McMahon, Brian Howard; Tom Lahiff, Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne; Niall Scully (0-0-1), Con O’Callaghan (0-0-5, 1f), Seán Bugler (2-0-0); Cormac Costello (0-0-4, 1f, 1 45), Ross McGarry (0-0-1), Luke Breathnach (0-1-2).

Subs: Cillian McGinnis (0-0-1) for Ó Cofaigh Byrne (43 mins); James Madden for Breathnach (53); Lorcan O’Dell (0-0-1) for Scully (52); Kevin Lahiff for McGarry (62); Davy Keogh for Comer (68).

GALWAY: Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald, Daniel Ó Flaherty (0-1-0); Dylan McHugh (0-0-1), Liam Silke, Seán Kelly; Paul Conroy, John Maher (1-0-0); Matthew Thompson (0-0-1), Cillian McDaid (0-0-1), Cein Darcy (0-0-1); Rob Finnerty (0-0-2, 1f), Matthew Tierney (0-0-2, 1m), Shane Walsh.

Subs: Liam Ó Conghaile (0-0-1) for Finnerty (32 mins); Cillian Ó Curraoin for Walsh (h-t); Jack Glynn for McHugh (40); Damien Comer (1-0-2, 1m) for Conroy (46); Sam O’Neill for Fitzgerald (58).

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).

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