Late rally comes up short as hurlers fall to Kilkenny

Kilkenny 2-16

Galway 1-16

Let’s be honest, this was always going to be a difficult assignment for an under-strength Galway outfit. That those clad in the maroon and white left Nowlan Park on Sunday afternoon with their honour intact speaks volumes for the way they went about their business.

Okay, Kilkenny, resting many of their big stars, could have possibly posted a greater score – as they did a week earlier against Tipperary – and would have here were it not, in particular, for a solid showing from Kinvara goalkeeper Colm Callanan and a small measure of team spirit.

Callanan’s agility and bravery to deny Mark Kelly and Walter Walsh on 56 and 65 minutes were not only two big moments in this tie but in Galway’s League campaign. If they, as could happen, avoid relegation on scoring difference, the importance of those stops should not be lost.

In saying that, Galway had their own goal chances, spurning no less than four great opportunities in the opening half. Had they bagged a couple of those, it would have been interesting to see the direction this contest would have meandered in.

In many respects, those missed chances summed up Galway’s afternoon, in that, too often, they lacked a certain conviction and, indeed, intensity in fronting up to a Kilkenny side which was arguably there for the taking.

Galway gave the Cats too much respect and, more costly, too much space for long periods but, in mitigation, this could have been down to a lack of experience, belief and confidence, especially among the younger players.

A Brian Cody side in front of a partisan crowd of 8,496 in Nowlan Park takes getting used to and, yet, it should not go unnoticed the manner in which the Tribesmen finished out this game, outscoring the Cats by 1-8 to 0-5 in the second period.

In the past, Galway teams have caved in when faced with the Kilkenny juggernaut but Anthony Cunningham’s charges, to be fair, kept it honest right up to the final whistle and tallied four unanswered points in the dying minutes.

Those came from Conor Cooney (free), substitute Niall Burke, Niall Healy and Padraig Brehony and it left just a goal between them as the fixture ticked into injury-time. Sadly, though, the clock was against the Tribesmen netting a dramatic equalising goal.

In truth, Kilkenny’s second goal through the lively Richie Hogan on the stroke of half-time was the killer blow; thereafter, it was always going to be a big ask for Galway, despite playing with the wind in the second period, to overturn a nine-point – 2-11 to 0-8 – interval deficit.

As it was, Galway’s commitment to stay the course in the second period deserved this moral victory. Cooney (two frees and one from play) and Healy traded points with Jonjo Farrell, Reid (two frees) and Hogan in the third quarter before Cooney netted the 60th minute penalty, following a foul on McInerney, to breathe new life into the Tribesmen.

With Cooney’s penalty, Galway looked more at ease with the likes of Johnny Coen, Daithí Burke and Brehony growing into the contest. Galway’s four late points then closed the gap to a goal and, in a game of ‘what-ifs’, it would have been fascinating to see what they would have done with more time on the clock.

Still, by holding Kilkenny to a goal keeps Galway out of the relegation zone – for the time being at least – ahead of Dublin and Tipperary, with the Premier County, smarting from a 4-15 to 0-20 defeat to Clare last weekend, due to arrive at Pearse Stadium this Sunday (2pm).

What has been encouraging, despite two defeats, is that Galway are providing little nuggets of positivity from each of their clashes and if they can mould these together later on in the year, they will be extremely competitive.

Certainly, after the heavy losses to Dublin and Clare in 2013, that has to be the primary objective for now.