Anthony Burns of Galway shoots to score his side's first goal despite the efforts of Darragh Lohan of Clare during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A match between Galway and Clare at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by John Sheridan/Sportsfile.
Allianz National Hurling League Division 1A
Galway 2-21 Clare 0-20
By Billy Coss at Pearse Stadium
Two Anthony Burns goals in a fruitful second quarter propelled Galway to a second straight Allianz Hurling League Division 1A victory and condemned an understrength Clare to back-to-back losses under the Salthill floodlights.
Before throw-in on a poignant evening, the Galway players, extended panel and management paid a moving tribute to 1988 All-Ireland medal winner and three-time All-Star Michael Coleman who sadly passed away on Friday.
It was their first half performance, in which they shot 2-15 and just two wides, that placed a sizeable down payment on the result and kept Clare without a win at the venue since 2013.
Though an inexperienced Banner line-up featured just four starters from last July's All-Ireland final with Cork, they forged a 0-9 to 0-7 lead by the 20th minute thanks to Aidan McCarthy's free-taking accuracy and both Ryan Taylor and Patrick Crotty prominent from play.
Micheál Donoghue's side had leaned on Evan Niland's placed ball marksmanship up to that juncture but burst to life late in the with captain Conor Whelan and Burns, the star of Loughrea's county title success last season, making the most of a plentiful supply inside.
Burns netted his opening goal on 24 minutes and was teed up by Whelan for his second two minutes later as Galway surged into a commanding 2-15 to 0-11 advantage at the break with Whelan, Darren Morrissey and Tom Monaghan all adding late points.
That amounted to the heavy lifting from the home side whose performance levels and accuracy dipped thereafter with just six second half points and ten wides their return when shooting into the Árus Bóthar na Trá end.
It was 2-17 to 0-16 by the end of a relatively low-key third quarter with David Reidy pointing twice for the visitors as they cut the margin to seven. McCarthy would finish with 11 points for Clare and though they sprung captain Tony Kelly for his seasonal debut just after the three-quarter mark, they were unable to make significant inroads against a Galway rearguard that has tightened up considerably since shipping 3-25 against Tipperary first day out.
Galway have a bye in Round 4 before travelling to Wexford early next month. Clare, meanwhile, host the Slaneysiders next in a fixture with major importance at the foot of the Division 1A table.
Scorers for Galway: Evan Niland 0-9 (7fs, 1 65); Anthony Burns 2-3; Tom Monaghan and Conor Whelan 0-2 each; Dan Loftus, Darren Morrissey, Padraic Mannion, Seán Linnane and Jason Flynn (f) 0-1 each.
Scorers for Clare: Aidan McCarthy 0-11 (8fs); Ryan Taylor, Patrick Crotty and David Reidy 0-2 each; Cian Galvin, Jack O'Neill and Tony Kelly 0-1 each.
GALWAY: Darach Fahy; Dan Loftus, Daithí Burke, Darren Morrissey; Padraic Mannion, Gavin Lee, Cillian Trayers; Cianan Fahy, Tom Monaghan; John Fleming, Evan Niland, Tiernan Killeen; Brian Concannon, Conor Whelan (captain), Anthony Burns. Subs: Fintan Burke for Daithí Burke inj (13), Kevin Cooney for Concannon (46), Jason Flynn for Niland (46), Seán Linnane for Fleming (53), Eoin Lawless for Trayers (66).
CLARE: Eamonn Foudy; Ian McNamara, Darragh Lohan, Adam Hogan; Cian Galvin, Ross Hayes, Jack O'Neill; Ryan Taylor, Paddy Donnellan; Cathal Malone, Patrick Crotty, Seán Rynne; Aidan McCarthy, David Reidy, Keith Smyth. Subs: Rory Hayes for Lohan inj (38), Aron Shanagher for Smyth (48), Colm O'Meara for Rynne (53), Tony Kelly for Donnellan (55), David Conroy for Malone (61).
REFEREE: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).
