Nicky English: Kilkenny don’t believe in lost causes

Well, that was all a bit like Groundhog Day, wasn’t it? Just like in last year’s All-Ireland final, Galway put it up to Kilkenny in the first half and then the westerners were put in their place in the second half. This time there was an immense contribution in the second half from Richie Hogan who typifies Kilkenny’s brilliance.

Hogan came on at half-time and scored five points but to be honest those scores were almost incidental to the other things he – and the rest of the team – do so well when they’re putting heat on the opposition.

You have to admire Kilkenny’s workrate. Jonjo Farrell was another who had a big day and confirmed his promise.

At one point the ball was going over the endline which would have led to an uncontested puck out for Galway, but Farrell chased it down. There’s no such thing as a lost cause in that Kilkenny jersey, which was typified by Cillian Buckley’s goal-line clearance. Conor Fogarty too led by his deeds in midfield.

There was another time when John Power chased after Pádraig Mannion and there was a spell of hooking and blocking in the area of the Kilkenny half-back line and ultimately Kilkenny got a lineball. That’s what sums them up, this relentless work that each and every one of them puts in when wearing that striped jersey.

TJ Reid too characterised what it is like to wear that jersey. He was not at his best in the first half but he came out after half-time and won several great balls in the air and fought hard. There was one time he created a magnificent point for Farrell. It was nearly the highlight of the day. TJ had an unbelievable first touch to win a ball and some players, when they really get a great first touch, can get excited and possibly do the wrong thing after. But he picked out a most beautiful pass to Farrell and gifted him a point.

It’s that mix of relentless application and workrate and unbelievable skill which is the difference and sets them apart and shows they’re still the main contenders for the All-Ireland. Anyone who wants to win the All-Ireland is going to have to beat them.

In fairness to Galway, they did a lot of really good things themselves in the first half and in initially responding to Kilkenny’s early second-half onslaught. The hurling championship needed a big game and this was it.

Similar pattern

I was speaking with some Galway supporters at half-time and, even after how well they’d played to earn the lead at the interval, they were wary about what lay ahead. And they were right to be wary because it all turned out to be a very similar pattern to the All-Ireland final last year. A new Kilkenny team was on display in the second half here, particularly in the shape of Hogan, who had a huge influence on the game.

Galway did put it up to them for a long time but, just as they did in the Dublin game and to Galway twice last year, Kilkenny closed them down and suffocated them in the half-back line, in midfield and in the half-forward line.

In that first-half, Galway threw everything at Kilkenny. They had Kilkenny spinning and seemed to be on top in defence. Padraic Mannion had a great game, and Daithí Burke was on top. There was a huge ruck that developed at about the half-hour mark; the referee let play run to the benefit of the game, and Galway won the ruck and there was a fleeting feeling that things were going their way.

But always in the back of my mind there was the memory of what had happened last year.

For a long time, Galway impressed me in this game and had me questioning myself about my original doubts that they weren’t real All-Ireland contenders. But they ended pretty raggedly and lacked leadership – which is a concern going forward – and struggled to create chances. In the latter part of the game, Galway were well wrapped up and well tied down.

But, then, the other side of that is a question: Which team in Ireland wouldn’t be wrapped up and tied down by that Kilkenny performance?

Intensity

Every team knows that Kilkenny are going to move up the gears and start the second half of a match with unbelievable intensity. It’s one thing knowing what you’re going to meet and another thing to be able to deal with it.

It’s not alone the application and workrate, but a team also has to have the real skill to hurl in tight places and tight corners and to win the ball in heavy traffic and to be able to get that ball away.

There were huge hits going in from every quarter, from both sides, and Kilkenny again showed just why they’re the team to beat in the championship. This was certainly the game of the year so far, and the difference between Kilkenny-Galway and the Cork-Dublin qualifier in Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday night was huge.