Kilkenny 4-16 Galway 1-21: When Conor Hayes went searching for another term as Galway manager he talked mostly about redemption, about finding at least some salvation for what happened last summer. He was referring to the 19-point defeat at the hands of Kilkenny last July.
Yesterday brought only a few crumbs in that regard. Getting within four points will help distance the memory, and yet Galway were again playing second fiddle. This time they weren't so much out-muscled as out-classed, and were often watching with envy as Kilkenny sent the scorekeepers into overtime.
It was a memorable and unseasonably competitive game for several reasons, not least for Ger Farragher's quite astonishing range of points - which included two sideline cuts, now worth 0-2 each. He ended with 0-15. But even that couldn't counteract Kilkenny's overall scoring rate, which made sure Galway were almost always in chase.
There were several key moments, starting with the yellow card and dismissal of Galway centre back Liam Hodgins after just seven minutes. While there was no arguing with his tackle on Derek Lyng, Galway could argue they didn't deserve to lose one of their best defenders at that stage. He had been putting it up to Henry Shefflin and company and his loss did unsettle Galway's defence.
But there were moments later on when no one could have stopped the Kilkenny forwards. Shefflin ended up with 1-7, his free-taking as accurate as ever, while John Hoyne collected 2-3 after one his finest displays in a Kilkenny jersey. He always had the upper hand on Galway full back Shane Kavanagh, but his overall game was flawless.
Martin Comerford generated bucketfuls of possession at centre forward, Richie Power set up Kilkenny's first and most impressive goal and Eddie Brennan collected 1-2 during his 20 minutes on the field.
Derek Lyng continues to control midfield with remarkable composure and Brian Barry is developing into a decent partner. With Tommy Walsh and Michael Kavanagh still exhilarating in the half-back line, Kilkenny are fast resembling the fearless, destructive team of two years ago.
Most of that damage was done in the first half. After nine minutes Power's storming run set up Hoyne for goal number one. Five minutes later Shefflin was set up by James Fitzpatrick, and suddenly Kilkenny were 2-4 to 0-2 ahead.
The few Galway supporters in the crowd of around 4,000 were fearing the worst, but Farragher soon came to the rescue. He hit seven consecutive points, six of which were finally answered by Shefflin. So from being eight points down after 15 minutes, Galway had closed it to a one-point game on the half hour. It then hovered at 2-9 to 0-13 at the call for the change-over.
A dream restart for Galway brought brief thoughts of an upset. Kevin Broderick blasted a close-range shot past James McGarry after just 30 seconds.
Hoyne responded immediately by sending Shefflin's short pass to the Galway net. Shefflin and Hoyne added 0-4 within minutes and from then even Farragher's brilliance from the sideline wasn't enough to save Galway. Brennan was at his sharpest when introduced after 50 minutes, and even the loss of Comerford to a yellow card on 62 minutes didn't unsettle the home team.
Afterwards manager Brian Cody was unusually reserved: "I'm not going to go on about it," he said. "But we had our whole full-back line ticked very early on and I don't know why. But I'm finished on that. My views are clear already and they won't change.
"It's a good start to the league though, and that's what we wanted. They were two quality games, and we definitely want to get into the second phase."
For Hayes, even the more competitive nature of the game couldn't hide his unease: "We conceded the scores too easily," he admitted, "and let them in for goals. That was our biggest problem.
"In fairness we were contesting ball all over the field. And we were getting scores at our end, but every time we got one, they got two, so they were always in control.
"Still we've a little juggling around to do, so I think we will take some heart from it."
KILKENNY: J McGarry; J Tennyson, N Hickey, J Ryall; M Kavanagh (0-1), T Walsh, JJ Delaney; B Barry, D Lyng; J Fitzpatrick, M Comerford (0-1), W O'Dwyer (0-1); R Power (0-1), J Hoyne (2-3), H Shefflin (1-7, six frees). Subs: E Brennan (1-2) for Fitzpatrick, J Maher for O'Dwyer (both 50 mins), A Fogarty for Comerford (62 mins, yellow card).
GALWAY: L Donoghue; D Joyce, S Kavanagh, F Moore; T Óg Regan, L Hodgins, D Collins; O Canning (0-1), David Hayes; A Smyth, D Forde (0-1), F Healy; Damien Hayes, G Farragher (0-15, eight frees, two sidelines, one 65), K Broderick (1-2). Subs: D Hardiman for Hodgins (7 mins, yellow card), R Murray for Smyth (31 mins), K Hayes (0-1) for Healy (47 mins), N Healy (0-1) for Damien Hayes (56 mins).
Yellow cards: L Hodgins (7 mins) replaced by D Hardiman, M Comerford (62 mins) replaced by A Fogarty.
Referee: G Harrington (Cork).
