Power play and Carey craft prove the key

Shudders run from the sunny south-east to the craggy south-west. There's going to be a very hungry ghost at next month's Guinness All-Ireland semi-finals banquet after Kilkenny evolved brilliantly into Croke Park's worst nightmare: beaten provincial finalists from one of the big three traditional counties taking advantage of the new championship experiment to mount an increasingly formidable challenge in pursuit of additions to their dusty stack of All-Ireland titles.

This quarter-final was another extraordinary match from the years we will surely all recall in our gummy dotage as a golden age for hurling. Before what was a disappointing attendance of only 22,826, Kilkenny broke free of Galway's iron grip which was choking the life out of their championship challenge after a stunning second-half performance turned around an interval deficit of nine points.

Incrementally, Kilkenny have built on the lessons of their displays this summer painstakingly to assemble a side that has improved with each match. Yesterday's team was unrecognisable from that which Wexford blew aside only a fortnight ago.

Vital changes on every line have expanded the team's potential as a unit and individual performances have also improved beyond recognition. Most gratifyingly for manager Nicky Brennan and his selectors, DJ Carey recovered form commensurate with his reputation and achievements.

In the Leinster final and in last week's League quarter-final, Carey had been well contained and worries were widespread about his likely contribution to a season he had begun so promisingly in the spring. But by the final whistle, with 2-8 under his belt, Kilkenny's captain had laid all forebodings to rest.

Galway will be despondent to have let slip a match that they dominated in the first half and, having arrested a harrowing third-quarter slide, were on the verge of winning again with 10 minutes left.

Ultimately Kilkenny's forwards went up too many gears for Galway and not alone closed the gap on the scoreboard but created a momentum that proved irresistible.

Whereas half-time opinion expected some sort of Kilkenny comeback, few thought that it would be enough to regain the initiative. The Leinster team hadn't played that badly in the first half, but had conceded three goals, all of them the consequence of defensive errors.

From the start, Galway shuffled their deck. Francis Forde replaced Joe Cooney, who went from centre-field to full forward, with Kevin Broderick dropping back to the wing. Whatever the merits of the specific changes, the team played well. Central to their control of the game was the performance of the wing forwards and centre-fielders.

The pace of Broderick, Justin Campbell, and Forde consistently unsettled the Kilkenny defence and scores flowed. Campbell scored three points in the first 23 minutes, but Kilkenny switched Liam Keoghan over onto the left wing and his party was largely over. Sharper and quicker to the ball, the Connacht champions had raced into a six-point lead within 12 minutes. Their first goal came in the 10th and had an element of good fortune about it as a long-distance free from Cathal Moore, who was enjoying a commanding match at centre back, flew into the net apparently assisted on its way by a touch from Cooney - the third match in which Kilkenny goalkeeper Adrian Ronan has conceded a goal from long-range frees.

For Kilkenny, the threat of Carey hadn't yet materialised and Charlie Carter, having won the first ball against debutant Finbarr Gantley, found the young Beagh player stiffer competition thereafter. PJ Delaney was causing Brian Feeney some discomfort, but that eased and passed.

In the 17th minute, the lead grew to 2-4 to 0-2 after Liam Burke, who was outstanding for the losers, particularly in the second half when he drove the Galway comeback from centre-field, had burst through onto the ball and shot at goal. Ronan, jittery all afternoon, didn't stop the ball cleanly and Burke was first in the rush to finish to the net.

Carey's first goal helped keep the margin down. In the 24th minute he picked up a ball from Phelan, moved at speed through the cover and finished to the net, his exultant reaction an adequate commentary on recent difficulties.

Nonetheless it was Galway who finished the half more strongly with Broderick knocking in another chance created by Ronan after a good move started by Feeney at corner back and involving Campbell, Broderick and Cooney.

Whatever threats were handed down in the Kilkenny dressing-room at half-time in the face of a 1-6 to 39 deficit proved effective in changing the attitude of the team, but the introduction of John Power helped tilt the balance of the attack into something more physical.

For the third quarter, Galway were subject to a barrage of unrelenting attacks. At the other end, Kilkenny's defenders were getting their teeth into their markers with the irrepressible O'Connor brothers tying up the Galway corner forwards, Liam Simpson coping comfortably with the isolated Cooney - who might have been usefully switched out the field during the second-half siege - and Pat O'Neill now dominating Joe McGrath and hitting a good share of ball.

At centre-field the hard work of Andy Comerford and Philip Larkin's increased prominence was turning the screw further. Conceding 1-5 without reply - Carey tipping in the goal from a dropping ball courtesy of Comerford - Galway were in paralysis and further scores followed. Phelan capitalised on a chance created by Carter for a goal and Carey converted a free.

Galway woke up and one of their own switches paid some dividend. Padraig Kelly entered the fray in place of Shaughnessy and his appetite for loose ball and discriminating clearances helped stem the persistent attacks.

With some sort of supply coming through, Galway made some inroads and a free from Eugene Cloonan - well held for the afternoon by Eddie O'Connor - and points from Broderick and Forde turned the match around once more to leave Galway a point in front.

Substitute Ken O'Shea had the decisive score when he goaled with his first touch after being set up by Carey. Thereafter Galway chased but couldn't catch Kilkenny whose hurling economy bore the hallmarks of likely success in the closing 10 minutes.