Stylish Galway outgun Cork

ALLIANZ NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE FINAL/Galway 2-22 Cork 1-17:GALWAY'S NINTH National Hurling League title was delivered in style yesterday evening in Thurles after a comprehensive victory over a comprehensively out-gunned Cork. John McIntyre's team unloaded an impressive barrage of score-taking while their defence stood firm against their opponents' hitherto productive attack.

After an Allianz NHL campaign during which they were the most consistent side, the final performance must have come as a disappointment to Cork manager Denis Walsh and the county supporters, all of whom must now train their thoughts and preparations on the end-of-the-month championship meeting with Tipperary.

Virtually all of the critical contests went Galway’s way. Even the anticipated pressure point of their half forwards against Cork’s most powerful line ended up tilting in the second half with Cyril Donnellan coming into the match at centre forward and both Aidan Harte and Andy Smith taking scores on the wings.

Cork’s best player this season, John Gardiner, was his usual forceful self – and lucky in the first half not to get into trouble with the referee – but he couldn’t repel Galway single handed.

Walsh’s gamble of playing the inexperienced Eoin Dillon on Joe Canning looked to be paying off after 20 fairly anonymous minutes from Galway’s principal shooter but in what seemed the blink of an eye, the full forward rattled off 1-2 in the space of little over six minutes leading up to the half-hour mark to change the match for good, as Cork never got back on terms afterwards.

The pace of the contest was breathtaking at times, especially in the first half with scores flying over at either end, but Galway looked to be carrying more attacking menace from an early stage.

The switching of Damien Hayes and Aidan Harte before the start quickly proved a shrewd move and paid dividends, with the Portumna forward punishing Seán Ó hAilpín with his pace from the start.

There weren’t two minutes on the clock when Hayes fastened on to a ball and out-ran his marker down the right, cutting inside to make an angle and firing into the net for the first score of the evening.

A few minutes later he was again in possession and flashing over a point.

The menace abated afterwards and eventually the right side of the Galway attack was restored to its original line-up. Ó hAilpín continued to struggle with his game, fumbling and miss-directing a couple of balls, but gradually came into the match and dropped a few inviting balls in on his brother Aisake at the other end.

He also set up Ben O’Connor for a run at the Galway defence in the 23rd minute. O’Connor passed to his speeding Newtownshandrum club-mate Cathal Naughton who continued in at pace and although appearing to disappear into the converging Galway cover, managed to get away a shot which ended up in the net.

Almost immediately Canning went to work, taking a ball and rounding Dillon for a run on goal and decisive finish.

Galway captain Shane Kavanagh, towered over as most full backs would be by the younger Ó hAilpín, was nonetheless effective in disrupting the possession and when one delivery did stick, he was able to block out the subsequent shot.

In the second half, with Cork chasing the match frantically, the whole Galway defence held firm but Kavanagh radiated calm and focus from the centre and was named as the sponsors’ man of the match.

Cork’s decision to field both of their skyscraper forwards, Aisake Ó hAilpín and Michael Cussen, wasn’t a notable success. Cussen started well with early points but David Collins got on top and although the big forwards were shuttled around the attack, at no stage did they hit on an even mildly threatening configuration.

The centrefield exchanges didn’t go Cork’s way either, as they failed to exert much pressure on the creative pairing of Ger Farragher and David Burke. Farragher was in the usual excellent form from the placed ball and hit five from six in his total of six points. Tom Kenny didn’t hit his familiar stride until towards the end, by which stage the match was loose and frenetic but Galway were thriving in the anarchy, raiding for points to keep the lead intact.

Cork had done well to stop the match getting away from them altogether in the first half and trailed by four at the break 1-11 to 2-12, but as soon as the match resumed Canning and Harte swept over another couple of points and Cork were chasing the match from there.

They were offered a lifeline in the 40th minute but Patrick Horgan’s penalty, awarded after Gardiner had been taken down, was hit high and deflected over the bar by Colm Callanan, who also made a couple of good saves from Cathal Naughton, Cork’s most threatening forward.

The counties went into the final, attended by 14,200, as the most likely sides to join Tipperary as feasible challengers to Kilkenny. Galway are still there but Cork have more convincing to do.

GALWAY: C Callanan; D Joyce, S Kavanagh, O Canning; D Barry, T Regan, D Collins; G Farragher (0-6, four frees, one 65), D Burke (0-1); D Hayes (1-1), C Donnellan (0-1), A Smith (0-2); A Harte (0-3), J Canning (1-5), I Tannian (0-1). Subs: J Gantley (0-2) for Tannian (53 mins), K Hynes for Smith (62 mins), A Callanan for Burke (68 mins).

CORK: D Cusack; S O’Neill, E Dillon, B Murphy; J Gardiner (0-3, one lineball), R Curran (0-1), S Ó hAilpín; T Kenny, L McLoughlin; M Cussen (0-2), K Murphy (0-2), C Naughton (1-1); B O’Connor (0-4, two lineballs), A Ó hAilpín, P Horgan (0-3, one penalty). Subs: J O’Connor (0-1) for McLoughlin (48 mins), M Walsh for S Ó hAilpín (49 mins), P O’Sullivan for Murphy (57 mins).

Referee: J Owens (Wexford).