Defending champions Kilkenny storm back to end Galway hopes

Kilkenny 1-16 Galway 0-15

Kilkenny swept through the first of today’s Allianz League hurling semi-finals in Limerick with an efficient second-half performance.

The match swung in the early stage of the second half as Kilkenny laid siege on Colm Callanan’s goal for the five minutes preceding John Power’s strike in the 54th minute. It was the only goal of a game that was tight and cagey in comparison to so many previous encounters between these rivals.

Kilkenny had emerged from the tunnel after the break after discussing how to eat into a five-point deficit. They made short work of it, levelling the match just 11 minutes after the restart when Pádraig Walsh, the latest marauding wing back from the Tullaroan household, ventured forward to clip a point.

Kilkenny's half back line was the engine room for their revival. Brian Hogan won possession and set up Colin Fennelly and TJ Reid for two quick scores and like Walsh, Cillian Buckley was perfectly placed to hoover up the increasingly stressed clearances from Galway's put-upon defenders and deliver low, incisive passes for the Kilkenny forward line to work off.

Henry Shefflin fired four nimble points from play and set up Power with a wonderfully deft, squared pass which signalled that it was only a matter of time before Kilkenny goaled.

Anthony Cunningham's decision to leave Conor Cooney on the frees was justified as the young St Thomas man converted five placed balls in the first half, including a free from deep in Galway country.

Callanan also got in on the long-range punishment, floating a 100-yard free into the sunshine as Galway made use of the breeze to manufacture a solid 0-11 to 0-6 lead at the break.

The nine first-half wides came back to haunt them in the second half. Once again, the Galway defensive unit played with the cohesion they had demonstrated against Clare. They succeeded in limiting the sharp teeth of the Kilkenny attack to glimpses in the first half but over the course of the match missed Iarla Tannian’s presence at centre half back.

They were on the back foot throughout the second half, unable to deliver anything like enough ball for Joe Canning and his companions in the full forward line. A David Burke point left just two points between the teams with five minutes left but while the match was close on the scoreboard, the defending league champions were in firm control of across all sectors.

Pádraig Walsh had a storming second half while Brian Kennedy warmed to the task of shadowing Canning from the off. The arrival of Damien Hayes added energy to the Galway effort but the Portumna man was required to drop back just to help the team push the ball forward. More often than not, it was returned with interest.

Galway exit the league leaving supporters less than clear about how well they are fixed for the summer ahead. Kilkenny’s bill of health was more easily read.

KILKENNY: 1 E Murphy; 2 P Murphy, 3 JJ Delaney, 4 B Kennedy; 5 P Walsh (0-2) , 6 B Hogan, 7 C Buckley (0-1) ; 8 M Fennelly (0-1) , 9 R Hogan; 10 W Walsh, 11 C Fennelly (0-3) , 12 TJ Reid (0-5, 4 frees) ; 13 J Power (1-0) , 14 M Kelly, 15 H Shefflin (0-4) . Substitutes: L Ryan for W Walsh (56 mins), A Fogarty for M R Hogan (64 mins), J Farrell for C Fennelly (69 mins).

GALWAY: 1 C Callanan (0-1 free) ; 2 J Coen, 3 R Burke, 4 D Collins; 5 A Harte, 7 D Burke, 18 J Cooney; 12 A Smith (0-2 ), 9 P Brehony; 8 D Burke (0-1) , 11 C Cooney (0-8, 3 frees, 1 65) , 10 N Burke (0-1) ; 19 J Canning (0-1) , 14 J Glynn, 15 C Mannion (0-1) . Substitutes: D Glennon for N Burke (45 mins), D Hayes for P Brehony (56 mins), K Hynes for A Smith (61 mins), J Flynn for C Mannion (68 mins).

REFEREE: J McGrath (Westmeath).