2016 review: Best performances

December 30, 2016

Tipperary's Michael Quinlivan celebrates after scoring a goal against Galway.
©INPHO/Tommy Grealy.

Here we take a look back on the top team displays, as well as individual ones, throughout the 2016 senior football and hurling championships.

There are countless honourable mentions you could trawl through here, but on the football front the ones that immediately spring to mind are Tyrone's Ulster SFC final victory against Donegal and Galway's superb display against Roscommon in the Connacht final replay.

The upsets which Tipperary and Clare had over Cork and the Rossies respectivley certainly warrant mention, as does Dublin's second-half scoring display against Westmeath in the Leinster final and Mayo's hard-earned quarter-final victory against Tyrone.

As for individual performances, 2-3 from Paul Geaney ensured Kerry of their 78th Munster title in July and the same month saw Paddy McBrearty's 0-11 tally against Cork in the qualifiers end the Rebels' season. Along with Geaney, Michael Quinlivan (Tipperary), Dean Rock (Dublin), Peter Harte (Tyrone), Jonny Cooper (Dublin) and David Clarke (Mayo) were all first time All Star winners in 2016 and each had some fine displays during the year to look back upon.

In hurling, Tipp and Galway both played their hearts out for an All-Ireland SHC final berth in back August, with the Premier men coming through on the most slender of margins (2-19 to 2-18). It was a hell of a show from the would-be champions, as was Kilkenny's second-half against Waterford in the semi-final replay at Thurles.

Galway's 'bounce back' display versus Davy Fitzgerald's Clare in the quarter-finals is certainly up there too, along Wexford ousting Cork from the championship in early July and Tipp's destruction of Waterford in the Munster final.

When it comes to individual displays, it's hard to look past what Austin Gleeson done on the field for Waterford this past season. The big Mount Sion man was incredible throughout the Deise men's campaign and didn't come away empty-handed either after his county's dominant All-Ireland U21 victory over Galway in September.

Seamus Callanan's devastating 1-11 tally in the Munster final gave plenty of indication to the summer he was having, while various displays throughout the campaign saw Kilkenny's Richie Hogan land his fourth All Star award at right corner-forward.

Here are our top three picks for the best championship performances in 2016:

 

3. New York give Rossies one hell of a scare

It may be all forgotten about now, but New York very nearly caused the upset of the football championship in its opening round back in May when they had Roscommon scrambling in the dying stages in the Bronx.

Up against a team which had shown they belonged amongst the country's elite in the months previous, Justin O'Halloran's outfit put up a mighty battle and looked on the brink of history late on before sub Senan Kilbride saved the visitors' bacon in injury-time.

In the end, the Rossies came away from the Big Apple with a 1-15 to 0-17 win by the skin of their teeth.

 

2. Tipp topple Tribesmen to end 81-year wait

What a result for the Tipperary players and their manager Liam Kearns!

After upsetting Derry in Breffni Park, they headed into the last eight of the All-Ireland SFC for the first time ever and defied the odds by securing a thoroughly deserved 3-13 to 1-10 win over Connacht champions Galway.

Conor Sweeney (2) and Michael Quinlivan were the goal scorers as the free-scoring Premier men made history at Croke Park.

 

1. Callanan and Co shred Cats for Tipp's 27th All-Ireland crown

Tipperary saved their best performance for last in this year's hurling championship, putting up 2-29 against old rivals Kilkenny and collecting their first Liam MacCarthy Cup since 2010 in the process.

Seamus Callanan's remarkable 0-13 salvo grabbed plenty of headlines afterwards but, make no mistake, it was a total team performance by Michael Ryan's men, with counterpart Brian Cody admitting afterwards that his side had been "comprehensively" outplayed.

Tipp's goals were supplied by inside men John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer and John McGrath, with the former arguably the score of the championship.

 


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