The third goal was a killer. It came so late in the game. But it could easily have been a killer for the team that scored it. And it very nearly was.
I’m referring, of course, to the All-Ireland hurling final between Limerick and Galway. Why does it feel easier now to say ‘Limerick and Galway’ than ‘Galway and Limerick’, even though Galway precedes the Limerick in the alphabet? It’s one of those things, I suppose. Or maybe it’s because winning matters, even to that extent.
Shane Dowling scored that third goal. But it awoke Galway to a tremendous resurgence fought mainly over the eight minutes of stoppage-time allowed by the referee. Two quick goals and a point or two, and suddenly the tears of joy we’d seen running down the cheeks of a Limerick woman the cameraman had picked out from the crowd, must have turned salty with fears of having it all snatched away.
It did look that way for a long maroon-coloured moment. But a Galway miss or two, and a Limerick point or two made all the difference. It was a long time coming, that Galway revival. It very nearly worked the oracle.