![\"Galway\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5144340_7_articleinlinemobile_95169_2995295.jpg\" "\\"Galway\u2019s")
Galway\u2019s Jason Rabbitte and Damien Cahalane of Cork. Picture: INPHO\/James Crombie<\/p>\n\n Patrick Collins:\u00a0Galway\u2019s structured defence meant puck-out targets in the opposition half were limited.<\/p>\n
Cork were destroyed on long restarts when he did drill it but that couldn\u2019t be pinned on Collins. Made one excellent save and the two goals were close in. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Se\u00e1n O\u2019Donoghue:\u00a0Superb first half hounding Conor Whelan relentlessly and managing two assists in the process. Was one of Cork\u2019s best performers in a nightmare second half too, though he did cough up the sliotar for the late goal. 8.\n <\/p>\n
Damien Cahalane:\u00a0U20 sensation Rabbitte caused him endless problems, clipping two points and getting fouled for three frees, the last of which earned Cahalane a yellow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Galway\u2019s Jason Rabbitte and Damien Cahalane of Cork. Picture: INPHO\/James Crombie<\/p>\n
Replaced by Cormac O\u2019Brien at half-time. Bigger pitch showed what a loss Ciar\u00e1n Joyce is. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Niall O\u2019Leary:\u00a0Man-marked Aaron Niland, who was replaced scoreless from play. Couldn\u2019t be faulted. 7.\n <\/p>\n
\n Eoin Downey:\u00a0Had his hands full in the first half on the dangerous Tom Monaghan. Had to go full-back for the second half with Cahalane on a yellow and fared alright on Rabbitte before getting injured.\u00a05.<\/p>\n
\n Rob Downey:\u00a0In a free role with Galway using five forwards and Cathal Mannion as the sweeper.<\/p>\n
Cork needed to dictate the tempo in that deployment but couldn\u2019t burst through the maroon wall. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Mark Coleman:\u00a0Quiet first quarter by his high standards but heavily involved with Cork\u2019s push midway through the opening half. Battled to the bitter end even when the cause was lost.\u00a0The most impactful of the half-back line. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Tommy O\u2019Connell:\u00a0Holding role at midfield, the same as he\u2019s done all year. Didn\u2019t have the same impact as in Munster with Galway firmly on top and snapping about any puck-outs that went to the deck. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Tim O\u2019Mahony:\u00a0Coming off an injury, he wasn\u2019t as dynamic as other games. Cork needed a platform from there when they were being beaten in the air. Didn’t look fully fit really. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Diarmuid Healy:\u00a0Had been one of the few Cork forwards to do well in the Munster final but, despite plenty of running, he never came close to cutting loose. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Shane Barrett:\u00a0Full of movement from sideline to sideline. Arrowed over Cork\u2019s first point from an acute angle and grabbed another could score in the second period. Chased goals late on and forced Darach Fahy into a save. By far the best of the half-forwards. 7.\n <\/p>\n
\n Darragh Fitzgibbon:\u00a0Wearing 10 but operating very deep against Galway\u2019s swarm defence. Grabbed two first-half points and had two assists. Was well marshalled in the second half and while he was unlucky with a mistimed hook for his second yellow, it was game over Cork when he was dismissed. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Alan Walsh:\u00a0Wasn\u2019t a first-half target for many deliveries ball with Brian Hayes lighting it up but drilled in a sensational goal. Couldn\u2019t be blamed as he’s a rookie but starting him didn\u2019t pay off. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Alan Connolly:\u00a0Snapped up a first-half point to go with his frees on minimal ball but couldn\u2019t make anything stick at all in the second period before coming off. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Brian Hayes:\u00a0Completely unmarkable in the first half, even with a sweeper in front of him, firing 0-6 from play and being fouled for a free. Daith\u00ed Burke struggled with his movement so Cillian Trayers switched over. Added another second-half point and was hauled down for a free but with the rest of the attack completely neutered, he could only do so much. 9.\n <\/p>\n
\n Cormac O\u2019Brien:\u00a0 Came in at wing-back in the second half but missed a chance and couldn\u2019t get to the pitch of the game. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Robbie O\u2019Flynn:\u00a0Brought in at midfield but ended up going into the forwards. Grabbed a bit of ball when few others could but had a couple of wides.\u00a06.\n <\/p>\n
\n William Buckley: Flew into action with a point on his introduction but Fitzgibbon\u2019s red card meant he had to come way too far out to do damage from there. 6.\n <\/p>\n
\n Barry Walsh:\u00a0Didn\u2019t manage to get any clean ball in his 20-minute run. 5.\n <\/p>\n
\n Ger Millerick: Late on for the injured Eoin Downey, won a few 50-50 high balls from Rabbitte to his credit. 6.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patrick Collins:\u00a0Galway\u2019s structured defence meant puck-out targets in the opposition half were limited. Cork were destroyed on long…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1965,1964,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-533235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-hurling","tag-cork-gaa","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}