Kilkenny received a humiliating defeat against Galway in Ballinasloe on Saturday in the Oireachtas hurling competition.Kilkenny discovered on their arrival in Ballinasloe that they had only 16 players, and manager Kevin Fennelly showed his disgust at the number of late withdrawals from the panel.A close game looked in prospect when the sides exchanged points in the opening eight minutes, but a Galway goal by Rory Gantley in the ninth minute opened a gap that was never narrowed.At half-time Galway led by 1-9 to 0-7 and in the second half had a total of 14 scores compared to the visitors' two points before a consolation penalty goal by Ollie O'Connor put a more respectable look on the scoreboard.Galway, who were also missing a number of key players because of club championship commitments, showed immense strength down the centre and all six forwards figured on the scoresheet. Corner forward Eugene Cloonan emerged as their top scorer with 12 points.