Galway came good in the second-half at Chadwicks Wexford Park this evening to overcome Wexford by 0-23 to 0-15 and claim an opening win in the Allianz Hurling League, as well as the Walsh Cup.
After the game saw a 15-minute delay due to a small fire in the main stand, Henry Shefflin’s side came from 0-5 to 0-2 down in the early stages with points from Conor Whelan and Evan Niland which helped them towards going in all square by the break.
Niland, who finished with 0-10 to his name, saw a penalty saved by Wexford ‘keeper Mark Fanning, but it made little difference as the Tribesmen got motoring after the turnaround.
Brian Concannon’s introduction for the second-half was key and the visitors would pull away from the Slaneysiders with 10 unanswered points, which had them leading 0-20 to 0-11 with seven minutes to go.
That run of scores included four frees from Niland and kicked point by Concannon before three more white flags were raised at the same end, securing the points for Galway and ensuring skipper Conor Whelan raised the Walsh Cup on their behalf.
60 nóim 🥎 #WEXvGAL@OfficialWexGAA 0-11@Galway_GAA 0-19
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 4, 2023
Tá ag éirí go maith le fir na Gaillimhe ó leath ama, scór iontach ó Linnane.
Seán Linnane with a fantastic score from play stretches the gap to 8.#GAABEO #AllianzLeagues@GAA_BEO | @officialgaa
BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/GvwbcK210K
TweetLucky for some.
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) February 4, 2023
Galway captain Conor Whelan brings the Walsh Cup to the dressing room after his side's victory in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A match, which doubled up as the Walsh Cup Final.
📸 @SportsfilePOM https://t.co/C6WO8VZgq9 pic.twitter.com/W1B5Fig77Q