Senior Hurling: Galway v Wexford

Galway 2-16 Wexford 0-14

Galway came away with an eight point win over Brighton rivals, Wexford in hot conditions the day before the Fourth of July Holiday.  It was a tight game for 50 of the 60 minutes, and a switch of Jamie Coughlin from the wing to corner forward paid dividends for the tribesmen as the Corkman tallied two second half goals to carry the day for the Westerners.

Jamie Coughlin launches a point from distance for Galway.

The first half was evenly contested and ended with the teams on level pegging.  It was a day for the free takers with the heat sapping energy from tired legs.  For Wexford, corner forward Shane Ryan was on the money from the dead ball and the man from the De La Salle Waterford clubman accounted for five of their seven points, with another from play.  Galway had Jamie Coughlin, Gerry Lane, and Pa White on the mark, with corner forward, White, tallying the score of the half from a tight angle to bring Galway level before the break.  It 0-7 a piece at the end of the first 30.

A Jamie Coughlin goal early in the second half put a sliver of distance between the teams.  Coughlin had moved to corner forward and just after the restart had a shot from a tight angle put behind by Darragh O’Callaghan in the Wexford goal.  It proved to be a warning as a few minutes later the Newtownshandrum man had possession from a similar angle and this time went far corner and the ball hit the inside of the net.  Galway added a couple more through Coughlin and extended their lead to five points.

Gerry Lane on the run for Galway.

Wexford made a great effort to come back and cut the Galway lead to two points as Ryan’s running caused the Galway defence to foul.  The Waterford man put three over the bar and entering the final 10 minutes it was anybody’s game.  Galway struck again with the second Coughlin goal, a ball floated into the square was batted into the net by the Corkman and Galway now had the win in their sights.  Two more points put the seal on the victory, with Galway rebounding nicely from their last outing. 

Galway:  J. Loftus, D. Quirke, R. Fitzpatrick, D. Lordan, P. O’Leary, H. Lawler, N. Mullins, C. Cooney, J. Coughlin, G. Lane, E. Feeney, L. O’Sullivan, P. White.  Wexford:  D. O’Callaghan, D. Guinan, G. Murphy, T. Moloney, B. Phelan, J. Broderick, D. Walsh, C. Sheehan, E. Kavanagh, E. Flaherty, R. Sludds, S. Ryan, P. O’Connor.

By Rory O'Donnell