Kilkenny v Galway
ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION IA: KILKENNY 0-21 GALWAY 1-14
Kilkenny finished well in the closing minutes at Nowlan Park on Sunday to stem an impressive Galway revival and make it two wins in a row in Division IA.
Brian Cody's men completely dominated the first half against a rudderless Galway, and leading 0-13 to 0-5 at half-time, it looked as though the Cats would saunter to victory in the second half.
However, with 15 minutes to go, Galway found their mojo with a flurry of points from Joe Canning and Iarla Tannian, followed by a goal from Paul Hoban, setting up an intense finish. Kilkenny's lead was cut to two with about five minutes to go, but points from Richie Hogan and the magnificent TJ Reid steadied Kilkenny in the closing stages and guided them towards the line.
In the first half, Kilkenny were all over a Galway side that looked to be a long way behind their opponents.
TJ Reid, deadly from placed balls, was doing most of the scoring damage and he had racked up a remarkable tally of 10 points by half-time, with James Maher and Conor Fogarty also on the scoreboard.
Joe Canning was off colour in the first half, along with the rest of his Galway teammates, but he picked up in the second and it was points from he and Tannian that sparked a revival, which culminated in Hoban's 60th minute strike.
Kilkenny had led by eight after a Fogarty point in the 47th minute but that lead was down to just two when Hoban goaled. However, the Cats remained ice cool in the face of the Galway pressure.
Reid and Colin Fennelly kept them ticking over, and then Hogan's point in the 69th minute left them three ahead before Reid finished the day's scoring with his 14th point to give the Cats a four point win.
Scorers for Kilkenny: TJ Reid 0-14 (7f, 3 '65), R Hogan 0-2, C Fogarty 0-2, J Maher 0-2, C Fennelly 0-1
Scorers for Galway: J Canning 0-8 (3f), P Hoban 1-0, I Tannian 0-2, D Glennon 0-2, J Flynn 0-1, P Brehony 0-1
KILKENNY: R Reid; S Prendergast, J Holden, JJ Tyrrell; P Walsh, J Holden, C Buckley; L Ryan, C Fogarty; C Fennelly, TJ Reid, J Maher; W Walsh, K Kelly, R Hogan. **Subs: **JJ Farrell for K Kelly (62).
**GALWAY: **J Skehill; G McInerney, F Moore, Daithí Burke; A Harte, David Burke, P Hoban; A Smith, D Glennon; N Burke, I Tannian, C Whelan; C Mannion, J Canning, J Flynn. Subs: E Burke for C Mannion (h-t); M Keating for A Smith (41); P Brehony for C Whelan (52); S Maloney for I Tannian (60); R Cummins for J Flynn (68).
Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath)
