O’Connor wins second man-of-the-match award in five days as Tipperary overcome Galway

Niall McIntyre

Tipperary 1-26 Galway 0-24

‘Laoch na hImeartha, gan aon dabht.’ – Cathal Moore.

Gearoid O’Connor won his second man-of-the-match award in five days as Tipperary defeated Galway by five points in the second round of the Allianz National Hurling League in FBD Semple Stadium.

Tipperary’s centre forward was in metronomic form, racking up a remarkable tally of 1-13 as he helped Tipperary maintain their 100% record in this year’s League, having beaten Dublin last week.

O’Connor played the full 70 minutes against Dublin, scoring 0-12 last Saturday and having followed it up with a Fitzgibbon Cup quarter-final win for UL on Wednesday, where he scored 0-8 and also won man-of-the-match, he’s certainly an in-form player at the minute.

The Moyne-Templetuohy club-man is bidding to inspire his college to his and their third Fitzgibbon Cup in three years and he won’t have time to rest on his laurels as he’ll be back in action on Wednesday in the semi-final, when they take on the University of Galway in Doora-Barefield.

Scór Lán-Ama #TIPvGAL @TipperaryGAA 1-26@Galway_GAA 0-24

'We kinda targeted this game…'

Comhghairdeas le Gearoid O'Connor, Laoch na hImeartha inniu.👏

BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV 📺#AllianzLeagues #GAABeo pic.twitter.com/yRzMdTNt4F

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 11, 2024

Tipperary got off to a fast start in front of their home crowd, with O’Connor prominent as they raced into a 0-16 to 0-13 lead at half-time.

Liam Cahill’s side had looked destined for a convincing win when they tore out of the blocks to lead by 0-21 to 0-13 with 42 minutes on the clock but Galway fought back.

The teams were level with just five minutes left to play but O’Connor sealed the deal, scoring the only goal of the game with a penalty in the last minute. That brought his tally to 1-13, with four of his points coming from open play.

Afterwards, speaking to TG4, team captain Ronan Maher hailed O’Connor for his performance while presenting him with the man-of-the-match award.

“We all know in here how good Gearoid us. He was unfortunate to get injured last year having had a great year last year. You see him back to form again this year, he’s a vital player for us up front, hits the frees and then contributes so much in-game as well, and this (man-of-the-match award) was well deserved today.”

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