ALLIANZ NHL DIVISION ONE Galway 2-21 Kilkenny 1-23YOU NEVER quite know what you're going to get in a league match – which would have been reassuring yesterday given that recent meetings between Galway and Kilkenny have been predictable and one-way.
But this Division One encounter between the counties produced a frantic final quarter which took the match to the very last action when replacement goalkeeper Colm Callanan dived low to keep out TJ Reid’s shot for the goal that would have salvaged 14-man Kilkenny’s realistic prospects of taking the defence of their league title to this year’s final.
The ball ran along the end-line, finally going out of play to signal the end of a lively contest attended by 7,124.
Callanan’s presence was shrouded in drama, as starting goalkeeper James Skehill had been taken off the field in an ambulance after a collision with Aidan Fogarty in the 63rd minute. The move was precautionary, but the player was briefly unconscious after the incident.
At that point the match was poised at 1-18 each, but, after a delay of eight minutes, the teams provided a final few minutes of fireworks, which saw the visitors out-score the All-Ireland champions by 1-3 to 0-5, thanks to a sizeable input from replacement forwards Kevin Hynes, Iarla Tannian, who scored 2-1, and teenager Richie Cummins.
That outcome looked pretty implausible in the third quarter as Galway looked to be reprising their second-half collapse in Thurles a fortnight previously, when scoring just once and conceding 1-6, as Kilkenny wrested back the initiative and looked on course for a comfortable win.
An entertaining first half had ended with Galway leading 0-13 to 0-9. Although Kilkenny refused to get swamped, they were under pressure for much of the first period.
Galway’s defence worked hard and had the upper hand. John Lee kept Michael Rice quiet and Donal Barry patiently tracked and dispossessed John Mulhall, as the promising Kilkenny newcomer looked to be streaking away in the 17th minute.
They also competed in the middle, although Kilkenny had switched former under-21 defensive centrefielder Niall Walsh to keep an eye on Ger Farragher, who complemented a busy display with his usual battery of converted placed balls, five frees coming in the first half.
The big impact up front came from Cyril Donnellan, who disrupted the hitherto smooth transition of Jackie Tyrrell from corner back to centre back by shooting four points from play, as the visitors led consistently throughout the first half. Aidan Harte scored two of his afternoon’s three points, including a nice catch-and-turn dispatch in the 11th minute.
But Kilkenny turned the match around after the interval. When Skehill spilled a ball under pressure, TJ Reid tapped the ball into an unguarded net. The Ballyhale forward had a fine second half, having switched with Mulhall, and ended up with 1-3 as well as nearly netting a last-gasp winner.
“Before we knew it, we were five points down. We’d spoken about this at half-time and I think we learned a lesson against Tipperary. If it had happened to us again today you’d really be worried about the future,” said Galway manager John McIntyre.
“It looked grim when we went five points down. Kilkenny were playing with whatever wind there was and they had momentum. But as we were saying, ‘lads, every point is precious. Keep picking off your points’, which we hadn’t done against Tipp.”
Kilkenny wing back Paddy Hogan, who had hit a couple of points from a long-range free and a 65, was sent off for a second yellow card in the 47th minute, but any notion of the pendulum swinging looked misplaced with Fogarty, who swooped for three second-half points, Rice, coming more into the game, Reid and Martin Comerford all fattening the lead to 1-16 to 14.
Galway revived with points from Farragher and sub Hynes before Tannian got in for his first goal to cut the margin back to one, 1-17 to 1-18. It was tit-for-tat until the finish, but Tannian responded to a great point from John Tennyson by batting to the net a chance set up by Cummins’ fine run to put Galway 2-20 to 1-21 up.
The holders got the deficit back to one, but ran out of time as their campaign, but for mathematical theory, ran out of road.
GALWAY: J Skehill; F Moore, S Kavanagh, D Joyce; D Collins, J Lee, D Barry; G Farragher (0-9, six frees, one 65), D Burke (0-1); A Callanan, C Donnellan (0-4), E Ryan; A Harte (0-3), J Gantley, N Healy (0-1). Subs: K Hynes (0-2)for Callanan (51 mins), I Tannian (2-1)for Gantley (53 mins); R Cummins for Healy (58 mins), C Callanan for Skehill (64 mins), T Regan for Lee (79 mins).
KILKENNY: PJ Ryan; T Walsh, B Hogan, J Dalton; P Hogan (0-2, one free and 65), J Tyrrell, J Tennyson (0-1); J Fitzpatrick (0-1), N Walsh; J Mulhall (0-1), M Rice (0-2, one 65); M Comerford (0-3); TJ Reid (1-3), R Power (0-7, five frees), A Fogarty (0-3). Subs: C Hickey for B Hogan (45 mins), J Ryall for N Walsh (66 mins).
Referee: J Owens(Wexford).
