Byrne leads the charge to a higher level

Kilkenny were deserving winners here, no question about that. All their key players performed up to scratch and there were a few outstanding displays as well, especially from Denis Byrne.

Galway possibly played the better hurling in the first half and it did take Kilkenny quite a while to settle, but that crucial spell early in the second half was the first real sign that Kilkenny were about to take over. They upped their game a couple of gears and Galway just couldn't respond. In that period, DJ Carey, Henry Shefflin and Byrne all stepped up their performances and pulled Kilkenny away. But for me, Byrne was particularly outstanding. His work-rate and accuracy in scores were fantastic.

Tactically, I thought Galway were quite limited. They concentrated almost exclusively on the puck out to Joe Rabbitte, yet Peter Barry seemed to handle him very well initially. Then they switched him with Mark Kerins which was surprising because I thought Kerins was doing quite well. He came out the field a lot and won a lot of ball but he sort of drifted out of the game once he was switched. And Rabbitte certainly didn't fare any better on Eamon Kennedy than he did on Barry.

Having said that, Alan Kerins had a super first half and Galway were a point up at half time. Still, they couldn't hit their fullforward line with the fast ball that they needed. To be fair to Fergal Healy and Eugene Cloonan, they didn't get anything near the amount of ball they would have liked.

Indeed, Kilkenny were probably lucky to be just the point down. Andy Comerford's goal was crucial for them because they were struggling to settle and that brought them right back into it. Then came DJ's goal early in the second half and that typified Kilkenny's tactic of isolating their full forwards, and particularly the pace of DJ.

There were times when DJ's lust for goals may have been better hit as points but he's proved yet again that he is absolutely lethal in a situation close to goal. He puts away goals like that on a regular basis and no one else in the country is able to hit them the way he can.

So much of that second-half display came down to experience. Guys like Andy Comerford and Brian McEvoy showed great leadership and of course John Power as well. They've played in All-Ireland finals and were able to raise their game those few notches more. Galway just don't have that sort of experience.

Cloonan did have a great goal chance at a crucial stage, but I'm not sure he realised how much space and time he had. In many ways, it was like Cork last week. They were five or six points down against a very experienced team and trying to get goals in situations like that is nearly impossible. Philip Larkin closed down the door on Alan Kerins and there was only going to be one winner with 15 minutes to go.

Yet there were some useful lessons for Galway. David Tierney had an excellent game, a very strong and very athletic player who got an inspirational point in the second half when they really needed it. Rory Gantley also had a good first half, but he did miss two frees later on when nothing seemed to be going right for Galway.

Again, I said at the start of this year that I fancy Kilkenny to go all the way and nothing I saw here changes that. They have that monkey on their back and they are so determined to shake it off. Physically, they are in incredible shape, very forceful and a body of powerful players up the middle of the field. John Power wasn't quite as hot as he was in the Leinster final but Cathal Moore never dominated to any extent.

There were a few heated moments among a few players in the first half but I think Pat O'Connor is certainly one of the best referees in the game and it was never going to get out of control.

Some people might have felt the lack of championship matches would tell against Galway, but, at the start, it looked like Kilkenny were the team that hadn't played hard in a while. Galway looked to have come on from the game against Tipperary and they settled well, maybe a bit unlucky not to have gone in at half time even further ahead.

Yet they were just worn down by a battle-hardened team who feel at this stage that they have something to prove. It wasn't quite as exciting as last week but for 55 minutes or so the standard of hurling was quite impressive.

It really took off at the start of the second half but once Galway failed to win anything significant from their puck out, it was always going to be Kilkenny's day.

So it makes for an interesting final now between themselves and Offaly. They certainly know each other and even though Kilkenny won quite comprehensively today, that suits Offaly. But I still feel that Kilkenny have that incentive and point to prove which is a little bit more than Offaly have.