In the end, the day feared by Kilkenny manager Brian Cody arrived. Yesterday's Guinness All-Ireland semi-final provided arguably the biggest shock of the hurling year. Galway defeated the defending champions and overwhelming favourites despite being a man short for the entire second half and shooting a litany a bad wides.

It is easy in retrospect to understand the grave foreboding in Kilkenny at the way in which the team was being hailed as an item for posterity and being entered in the roll of honour for this year before the provincial championships were completed.

Few teams at this stage can bear the burden of playing badly if their opponents play well and yesterday both sides of the equation came disastrously to pass for the champions. There was hardly a Kilkenny man on the field who established mastery over his direct opponent.

The statistics told their own grim tale. One point from play was the total achieved by the Kilkenny full forwards. John Power, who worked like a Trojan throughout, ended up as the leading scorer from play with all of two points.

Of their 1-13 total, 1-10 came from placed balls. On the evidence of the season to date, who could have foreseen Kilkenny's much-praised attack suffering such meltdown?

In terms of direct marking Galway did well. They had to cope with right corner back Gregory Kennedy getting the line in the 29th minute after a second yellow card. It was an unlucky punishment. DJ Carey slipped coming into contact with Kennedy and was caught about the head. But for the slip, the challenge mightn't even have drawn a free.

Michael Healy had a far better match than in the quarter-final and for the second year running Ollie Canning drastically cut Charlie Carter's productivity. Carter maintained his high rates of economy by shooting one point from one chance, but otherwise he was well marked, although in common with his colleagues in the full forward line, he had to make do with the worst supply they've ever had in a championship match together.

The specially-designed forcefield in the half forwards didn't have the desired effect as the Galway defence swarmed all over the ball and their opponents. Galway's half backs were penalised - sometimes harshly - for a number of frees and occasionally failed to clear the ball adequately, but they stopped any bridgehead being established in their sector.

Even when Kennedy left, the winners didn't lose their focus at the back. Derek Hardiman dropped to the corner and Athenry's Brian Higgins came in for a storming second half at wing back in place of Fergal Healy, who had been named in the vacancy at left corner forward.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the afternoon was the wipeout of the Kilkenny centrefield. Both Andy Comerford and Brian McEvoy were replaced before the end as David Tierney and Richie Murray delivered in style for Galway. Murray is only 19, but was relentless around the middle and hit a lot of ball, including a fine point in the 57th minute.

From an early stage, it was apparent that Galway were fired up for this. In a way it was reminiscent of the 1970s and '80s when in All-Ireland semi-finals the county fielded teams that hadn't been seen since the spring and frequently were out of the traps so quickly that their opponents hadn't recovered from the shock until it was too late.

The recruitment of Michael McNamara, the former Clare trainer was - by McNamara's own reckoning - intended to put an intense fitness and steely resolve into the Galway team. There were echoes of Clare's epic days at the throw-in when an outbreak of thrashing erupted before the start. John Power was left waving a smashed hurl before the ball had even been thrown in.

Galway had the best of starts on the scoreboard when Eugene Cloonan's low-flying free from about 45 metres flew into the top of James McGarry's net. Early exchanges indicated that Kilkenny's forwards were going to find it difficult.

Up front things weren't quite as promising for Galway. A succession of wides menaced the hard work of the team as a whole. Cloonan missed two frees well within his awesome range and the Kerins family racked up five wides between them. Alan created three excellent chances for himself but missed badly whereas Mark snatched at a couple but did find the mark in the 23rd minute. Both contributed well to the team effort, though. Mark stood his ground against the physical challenge of Eamonn Kennedy and Alan hoovered ball and made telling runs right up to the end.

The quarter-final against Derry had suggested that Kevin Broderick was back in form. Yesterday proved it. His hard work in disrupting the Kilkenny half backs was complemented with some searing runs - none better than in the 69th minute when he fastened onto a clearance from Canning behind centrefield, set off on a swerving solo, tapped the ball over a defender and took his point.

Yet, despite a number of fluffed chances, Cloonan was the sharp edge up front and again amassed a huge total, 2-9. If his free was fortunate, he had a penalty before half-time deflected over for a point and also knocked over a fine score from under the shadow of the New Stand. His two 65s at the start of the second half steadied the team and stalled any hopes Kilkenny had of gaining ground quickly after the interval.

In conjunction with his clubmate, the tireless Joe Rabbitte who bulwarked the attack as target man, Cloonan was a constant problem for Kilkenny. Some of his frees were astonishing - one in particular from 80 metres in the 67th minute - but it was his goal at the start of the final quarter that convinced most people that Galway could hold on to the lead.

It was into the same Hill 16 goal that Cloonan had so famously missed in last year's semi-final against Kilkenny. But there the comparison ended. He was being liberally fouled as he soloed through but referee Pat O'Connor let play go on and the Galway full forward kicked the ball to the net.

Few are comfortable writing off Kilkenny's chances of scoring goals but as the match reached its conclusion, such a development would have run completely counter to the trends of the afternoon. DJ Carey did get a chance of a 20-metre free in the final minute and duly took his goal - an option he had tried in the ninth minute when a point might have been the more prudent course of action.

But it was Cloonan who fittingly had the final word, sweeping over a 65-metre free with nonchalant ease in the last action of the match, of what had been a great display.