Galway’s second-half collapse ends in a 12-point hammering

Kilkenny 1-24

Galway 0-15

A weak looking Galway hurling team on paper predictably proved poorly equipped for the challenge of dealing with an eager Kilkenny outfit in the Walsh Cup semi-final in Freshford on Sunday.

Heavily outscored by 19 points to three in a completely one-sided second-half, Galway cut a sorry sight as a physical struggle wound to its inevitable conclusion in difficult conditions before a crowd of over 1,500 at the Kilkenny venue.

To compound the Tribesmen’s gloom, centre-half-back Darragh Burke was red carded in injury time for an unnecessary follow-through swing on Kilkenny’s long serving attacker Eoin Larkin when attempting to relieve his lines.

Offaly referee Brian Gavin was left with no option but to dismiss the St. Thomas’ player, especially as wing forward Larkin, who suffered an arm injury in the incident, had to be stretched off the field in obvious distress.

Though it’s only January, it’s only the Walsh Cup and Galway were missing a number of influential regulars between injuries and club commitments, the manner in which Kilkenny pulled away as the match progressed was alarming.

Galway deservedly led by 0-12 to 1-5 at the interval having had the assistance of the strong wind, but they collapsed altogether on the resumption with Niall Healy, their best forward, accounting for the team’s meagre second-half tally of three points – and two of those came from frees.

Having scraped past a callow Offaly team in Tullamore the previous Sunday, there was no great hope that Galway could turn over Brian Cody’s men on their home turf, but their abject second-half display will have the alarm bells ringing ahead of the National League campaign.

Frankly, there were a number of players wearing the maroon jersey against Kilkenny who are hardly of the required standard for inter-county duty, while the lack of leadership in their ranks when the exchanges turned against them was also disquieting.