Galway somehow complete a great escape

Kilkenny 3-22 Galway 5-16

Even by the standards of this fixture yesterday in Tullamore was sensational. Even by the standards of a season which has already begun to overshadow last year’s pyrotechnics, it was an incendiary contest albeit bursting into flames only in the dying minutes.

This Leinster hurling semi-final ended up being an explosive amalgam of Kilkenny-Galway traditions. Put simply Galway eradicated a 10-point margin in the space of a few minutes.

Ten! Gone in a puff of smoke – or several puffs, as they turned their opponents’ goal area into a shooting range. Three goals – two from Conor Cooney and Joe Canning’s penalty – demolished the margin as Kilkenny reeled under the impact.

Face-offs between Joe Canning and Henry Shefflin have been plentiful between club and county in recent years but the Young Pretender stuff has been wearing a bit thin for Canning, as he hits his mid-20s nine All-Irelands behind King Henry.

Yesterday it happened again. Canning – in further defiance of the previous week’s orthodoxy that penalties would be easy to concede because the new guidelines would make their conversion difficult – goaled twice from the 20-metre line and added three points from play.

In a cameo from grand opera in the dying seconds Shefflin, on as a replacement, eased over a point from tight on the left sideline to restore the Kilkenny lead with time nearly up – only for Canning virtually to replicate the score in the diagonally opposite corner to send the contest to a replay.

It was a great afternoon for the Galway captain. Switching to centre forward early on, he worked hard, getting in a couple of dextrous flicks when apparently possession had been lost, winning ball and moving it around well.

Purple patch

It had looked to be going the way of both expectations and the majority of the counties’ meetings in the past 15 seasons when Kilkenny hit a purple patch in the second half and began to overwhelm Galway with their movement and sharp score-taking.

The Westerners’ successes have tended to come on the back of cyclonic starts. Yesterday was an uncertain opening by Galway, who played with the wind and yet went in at the break only on level terms.

Kilkenny looked set to make them pay dearly for this lack of prudence by negotiating a tricky third quarter during which the teams stayed neck and neck to hit their stride. From a one-point deficit, 2-12 to 2-13, they hit Galway for 1-8 without reply, showcasing all of their assets.

Important players

Scores came from their two most important players, TJ Reid and Richie Hogan, whose twin dynamic won last month’s league final, Eoin Larkin – maintaining the improved form of the quarter-final against Offaly – replacements Tommy Walsh (on in the forwards to great acclaim) and Aidan Fogarty.

In between there had been signs that the life force was ebbing in Galway – substitute Kevin Hynes and Iarla Tannian drove forlorn wides from out the field – and when Reid added the third goal, placed by a superb ball from Tommy Walsh in the 61st minute, crowds began to drift away from O’Connor Park.

Up until this burst of activity it had been a close match. Kilkenny's main players showed early with Hogan and Colin Fennelly – a great contribution 1-3 from play and a couple of great defensive plays, blocking Canning and dispossessing David Burke – getting points and Reid's free taking clicking into gear.

Galway kept up and a couple of equalising points at five- and six-all from Conor Cooney after a move featuring two of the team’s prominent performers, the abrasive Andy Smith and hard-working corner back David Collins and impressive rookie Jason Flynn who, had his shot selection been a bit better, would have ended up with another 1-1.

First goal

Kilkenny struck for the first goal after Larkin, given an effective escort through the Galway defence, shot weakly. Goalkeeper Colm Callanan will have been very disappointed not to keep it out. Within minutes Niall Burke rose under Smith’s dropping shot to beat JJ Delaney and Eoin Murphy to the touch for Galway’s first.

These patterns were replicated after half-time. Jonathon Glynn came on, scored almost immediately and his ball-winning created problems.

Goals were again swapped: Fennelly finishing after a weaving run by Mark Kelly and Canning dispatching the first penalty after Glynn had been taken down.

Galway have reason to be happy with the outcome because not alone did they not lose but they had the gumption to stave off defeat even when it looked virtually certain. Collins and Tannian in defence kept playing as if the possibility was there and when Canning began to open opportunities, the attack responded.

Cooney’s two goals - the first set up by Canning and the second by Joseph Cooney - showed clinical finishing when it was most required.

Kilkenny won't be quite sure how it happened but if they can reproduce their best phases from yesterday they'll feel they can make amends when the sides meet again in the eagerly-anticipated replay. GALWAY: 1 Colm Callanan; 2 Fergal Moore, 3 Ronan Burke, 4 David Collins; 7 Johnny Coen, 5 Daithi Burke, 6 Iarla Tannian, 8 Andy Smith (0-1), 9 Pádraig Brehony; 14 Joe Canning (2-3, goals penalties), 10 David Burke, 12 Conor Cooney (2-7, four frees and two 65s points); 15 Jason Flynn (0-2), 11. Niall Burke (1-2), 13. Cathal Mannion. Subs: 22 J Glynn (0-1) for Mannion (half-time), 21K Hynes for Smith (50 mins), 24 Gearóid McInerney for Brehony (60 mins), 19Joseph Cooney for David Burke (62 mins), 23D Hayes for N Burke (63 mins). KILKENNY: 1 Eoin Murphy; 2 Paul Murphy, 3 JJ Delaney, 5 Kieran Joyce; 4 Brian Kennedy, 6 Jackie Tyrrell, 7 Cillian Buckley; 8 Pádraig Walsh (0-2), 9 Richie Hogan (0-5); 10 Walter Walsh, 24 Mark Kelly, 12 TJ Reid (1-8, seven points frees); 13 Colm Fennelly (1-3), 14 Richie Power, 15 Eoin Larkin (1-1). Subs: 22 Tommy Walsh (0-1) for W Walsh (43 mins), 25 Aidan Fogarty (0-1) for Power (53 mins), 23 Henry Shefflin (0-1) for Kelly (63 mins), 18 Brian Hogan for Tyrrell (69 mins) Referee: Johnny Ryan (Tipperary).