Stand up, Joe Canning.
Joe Canning has long been a talisman of this Galway hurling side, and he lived up to his reputation once again on Sunday afternoon when he scored the winning point in the fifth minute of injury time.
The Galway centre-forward put 11 points over the bar, half of Galway’s 22 point total, just enough to see off Tipperary (1-18) and send Galway to the All-Ireland Final.
While it was a wonderful team effort by Galway, much of the praise was heaped on that man Canning — and it’s impossible to say that he doesn’t deserve it.
Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning Joe Canning #tippvgal
— Oisin Langan (@oisinlangan) August 6, 2017
Joe Canning. What a leader. He was born to do that. #gaa
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) August 6, 2017
John Mullane: "Neymar was sold for a 1/4 of a billion. If the Arabs came to town to take over hurling, how much would Joe Canning be worth?"
— Richie Heneghan (@RichieHeneghan) August 6, 2017
Canning himself spoke to The Sunday Game after the match and was humble about his extraordinary winning point. “It was lucky it went over,” he said. “I remember a couple of years ago against Waterford I did the same thing to draw the match and I missed it, so it’s nice when it comes off. To be honest, it could have went anywhere. I’m lucky it went over.”
'I was lucky it went over' – Match winner Joe Canning on his last-gasp score pic.twitter.com/oXIexoD2kW
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 6, 2017