Hurlers let the Cats off the hook

Kilkenny  1-16

Galway 0-15

A 54th minute goal from Kilkenny’s John Power may have put paid to Galway’s National Hurling League aspirations but what really must rankle with the Tribesmen and their management team in the aftermath of this semi-final defeat was that this was a game they could more or less have won.

In excess of over 21,000 hurling fans packed into the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Sunday and while they did not witness a classic by any stretch of the imagination, it still had enough talking points to fuel the debate on the merits of both side’s championships credentials heading into the summer campaign.

For Galway’s part, they underlined the progress they had made throughout the League with a lively, committed and methodical opening half – after which they led 0-11 to 0-6 – but they allowed their display to regress in the second period and were duly outscored by the Cats by 1-10 to 0-4 despite having to face the wind

In many respects, Galway were left to rue their nine first half wides and young midfielder Padraig Brehony, in particular, must have wondered what he had done to anger the sporting gods. He could have walked away, potentially, with 1-4 but as it was he failed to raise a single flag.

It was just one of those afternoons for the exciting Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry man who, following an impressive National League crusade, should still have a major say in Galway’s fortunes when the championship programme kicks in over the coming months.

At any rate, the inconsistencies of Galway’s second half performance must be shouldered by the team as a whole. It went without saying that Kilkenny were going to up the ante after the break but Galway’s failure to anticipate and negate this resurgence was disappointing.

Where Galway had been proactive in their hurling in the first half – hooking, blocking, breaking tackles and astute in their distribution into the forward division – they now allowed Kilkenny to dictate the pace and, all in all, it looked as if they lacked the guile required to repel the Cats during a crucial third quarter.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.