Galway 1-23

Kilkenny 0-13

John McIntyre at Nowlan Park

GALWAY minor hurlers have been the scourge of their Kilkenny counterparts over the past six or seven years and that trend continued at Nowlan Park on Saturday.

Coming into this Leinster round-robin championship fixture, the Cats must have been almost desperate to end their bad run against Galway; instead, the gulf in standard between the counties at this level was only exposed further.

Beaten in three consecutive All-Ireland finals (2018 to ’20) and also coming up short in the semi-finals of 2017 and 2021, Kilkenny had no shortage of motivation in trying to turn the tables on the boys from the west.

This was their opportunity. Playing on home turf handed the Cats an immediate advantage but Nowlan Park was unable to protect them from a heavy loss and more despair.

The crowd of about 1,000 probably watched in some disbelieve at how the closing 30 minutes evolved. At half-time, Kilkenny only trailed by 0-9 to 0-6 and had wind advantage to come. It was set up for them.

Galway looked in a little trouble, but they rose the tempo all over the field on the resumption and simply blew Kilkenny away. Superbly coached, their heads-up hurling, cohesion, and link-up play – especially in defence – left the hosts chasing shadows.

In the end, 13 points separated the teams, and that margin represents a humiliating defeat for Kilkenny in their own backyard. The longer the match went on the more Galway were in control.

With the outstanding Evan Niland again shooting the lights up front, Galway really turned the screw on the resumption. The more games they are playing the better they are becoming. Even the top minor teams in Munster must be watching events in the east with some apprehension.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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