GalwayÕs best in years

Date Published: 11-Jul-2012

Galway 2-21

Kilkenny 2-11

CIARAN TIERNEY AT CROKE PARK

AS sublime a first half performance as any Galway team has ever produced at Croke Park laid the foundations for the shock of the hurling summer as the boys of 2012 really came of age with a sensational and comprehensive victory over Kilkenny to claim an historic first Leinster senior title on Sunday.

Few, even within their own county, gave Anthony Cunningham’s charges a prayer against a side going for their 14th provincial title in 15 years – and few could have dreamed up the blistering performance which saw the Tribesmen lead by 2-12 to 0-4 at the break.

The sheer intensity of the Galway challenge took the breath away. Nobody saw this one coming. The defence which shipped seven goals to Westmeath and Offaly in the two previous rounds outhurled and outfought Kilkenny with the kind of venom which has become a trademark of the All-Ireland champions themselves over the past decade.

It was a tactical masterclass from Anthony Cunningham and his backroom team, who hardly could have dreamed up the kind of savage intensity their young charges conjured up against the greatest side in the history of the game.

From the outset, it was clear that the men in maroon were up for this one. The passionate defending began with the attackers, as the mobility of Portumna duo Joe Canning and Damien Hayes caused all sorts of havoc for the reigning champions.

Hayes spent most of the game rampaging around the middle third of the field; Canning also covered back at times and, with a 1-10 tally, produced the kind of performance he has always threatened to deliver for the county at senior level.

Back in defence, the performances of David Collins, Niall Donoghue, Tony Og Regan (bar a couple of costly second half lapses) and Johnny Coen were simply immense. They rarely gave a Kilkenny man a second on the ball as they swarmed around the champions with the kind of passion and self-belief which is supposedly alien to Galway senior sides.

Coen, in particular, delighted in the freedom Kilkenny gave him in the left corner of the victors’ defence and mopped up ball after ball whenever the Cats managed to reach the danger zone, rare occurrences at times given how well the likes of Andy Smith, Cyril Donnellan, David Burke, Hayes and Canning battled further up the field.

Kilkenny were simply shell-shocked after the 6/1 outsiders enjoyed a perfect start, tearing into them from the throw-in with centre forward Niall Burke delivering two early points from play either side of a superbly taken opening goal from Canning, set up by midfielder Iarla Tannian just four minutes in.

It was just the start Galway wanted, and we braced ourselves for the Kilkenny fightback, but nobody could have envisaged the kind of pressure which the challengers exerted on Kilkenny men in possession all over the field – epitomised by the tireless work-rate of Canning and Hayes.

With less than ten minutes gone, and still no sign of a Kilkenny score, Canning underlined the strength and spirit of the Galway challenge when he tracked back to dispossess Kilkenny corner forward Richie Hogan deep in his own half.

Canning added to Galway’s tally after being fouled by Jackie Tyrrell before Smith ran at the Kilkenny defence and won another free, which was calmly slotted between the posts by his Portumna colleague.

Fifteen minutes gone, the rank outsiders leading 1-4 to no score, and not even a sniff of a Kilkenny attack . . . no wonder the small Galway contingent in the 22,171 crowd were in dreamland, and thousands more must have been wondering why they stayed at home.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.