SHANE Walsh’s status as the king of the two-pointers salvaged a draw and saved Galway’s unbeaten record in a thrilling finale in Tuam.
Mattie Donnelly’s magnificent score looked to have sealed a valuable win for relegation-threatened Tyrone.
But a 3/3 rule breach right at the death gave the Tribesmen a shot at an equaliser – one that Walsh nailed from outside the 40-metre arc into a difficult crosswind.
Speaking after the late drama, Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke weighed in on the new rules.
He said: “That’s just the new rules for you.
“At the end of the day, it was our own fault, we should have been wise to it.
“The way those games are such a frantic finish, it’s easy standing on the sideline having cool heads, it’s just a bit tougher on the field.
“Just disappointed. I thought the boys put in a massive shift there, played some really good football in the first half against the wind.
“We came in in a reasonably good position, but we always knew Galway are a very seasoned team.
“They threw a few men in there and they’re good carrying the ball into the wind. We still did enough to get ourselves ahead.
“It’s just a sickening way to not get the victory at the end with the ball being moved out for a two-pointer. Annoying that way, but still a very pleasing performance.”
Tyrone were the better team for long spells.
Errigal Ciarán combined when Peter Harte set up Darragh Canavan for a brilliant eighth minute goal. Galway also had ‘keeper Conor Flaherty to thank for a penalty save from Harte three minutes later.
The home side’s threat from outside the arc delivered orange flags for Rob Finnerty, Paul Conroy and Walsh.
But Tyrone were still the happier with a 1-8 to 0-11 scoreline after facing into the worst of the elements.
With Mark Bradley and Canavan superb up top, the Ulster men forged ahead again and were 1-15 to 0-15 up before Galway captain Sean Kelly won a 59th minute penalty that also left Tyrone defender Peter Teague in the sin-bin.
Walsh duly tucked it away but having absorbed that setback, scores from Darren McCurry and Donnelly looked set to give victory to the visitors.
But Walsh was to be Galway’s saviour with a sweetly struck two-point free after Tyrone, just back to a full complement, were penalised for a 3/3 breach in the closing seconds.
Padraic Joyce spoke of that chaotic finish in his post-match interview.
He added: “I was thinking we needed a goal.
“Mattie Donnelly kicked a brilliant two-pointer for them. A couple of decisions went against us in the second half. We’ll have a look at the tape and see can we figure them out, because in real time I couldn’t.
“When they got the two-pointer, you’re thinking time is up, a minute to go on the clock.
“We had a couple of rushed shots then when we needed a two. But we won it back and then they sent a man on with the black card.
“He went in on the wrong side of the pitch and we got a chance of a two-pointer. In fairness to Shane, he showed good nerve to kick it over.
“It was an exciting game, topsy-turvy. We probably weren’t at the pace of it early on. Credit to Tyrone, I thought they were really sharp today, really up for it. Our lads showed huge character in the end to get a point out of the game.
“We’re happy enough. We haven’t a whole lot of heavy training done yet, but to come out after five games unbeaten is great.
“And the last three weeks, as every county will tell you, have been really tough.
“But I think we’ve managed the squad quite well and got game time into a lot of lads which is great for us, so I think we’re in a decent place.”
Galway: C Flaherty; J McGrath, D O’Flaherty, J Glynn; L Silke, S Mulkerrin, S Kelly; C Hernon, J Maher; C Sweeney, C McDaid 0-2, J O’Neill 0-2, 1m; R Finnerty 0-4, 2tpf, P Conroy 0-2, 1tp, S Walsh 1-7, 1-0p 3tpf. Subs: D McHugh for Glynn HT, C D’Arcy 0-1 for Hernon HT, M Thompson for Sweeney 55, F Ó Laoi for O’Neill 58, B Mannion for Finnerty 58, K Molloy for McDaid 70.
Tyrone: N Morgan; N Devlin, P Teague, A Clarke; M McKernan, R Brennan, K McGeary 0-1; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick 0-1; A Donaghy, M Donnelly 0-3 1tp, C Daly; P Harte, M Bradley 0-7, 1tpf 1m 1f, D Canavan 1-5 2f. Subs: J Oguz for Donaghy 54, D McCurry 0-1 for Harte 57.
Referee: B Cawley.
