All-Ireland SHC final: Kilkenny 1-22 Galway 1-18
MOST cats kill mice – Kilkenny’s Cats kill hopes and dreams.
At half-time, Galway looked to have a good chance of ending their 27-year wait for senior success, leading by three points with their opponents underperforming. However, the champions completely crushed them in the second half, scoring twice as much as Galway, 14 points to 1-4 – and even that goal only came in injury time, with Joe Canning firing a free low to the net.
Kilkenny had almost assured victory well before then, though, although, typically, they never let up, also outscoring their opponents by five points to one from the hour mark onwards, until that very late Galway goal. Admittedly, the winners were helped by wasteful shooting from Galway in that closing period, a downward trend started by Canning missing a 62nd minute free, with bad wides from play by Conor Whelan – who had a pot at goal - and substitutes Conor Lally and Conor Cooney.
Yet, at least Galway were getting chances then – they managed only one wide earlier in the half, from blood sub Fergal Moore. They still ended up with 12 wides overall and among their many regrets will be not being further ahead at the break, having had the upper hand on below-par opponents.
In contrast, Kilkenny were clinical, with only two wides after the break (out of a total of five), and even those were very close, ‘Hawkeye’ denying goalscorer TJ Reid a point from play, then substitute Richie Power marginally off-target very late on. In the home straight, though, the Cats cruised clear, firing over five more points from play, including one from wing-back Pádraig Walsh, along with the Fennelly brothers, Colin and Michael, Walter Walsh and Richie Power.
Although Canning had the final say on the scoreboard, he had been posted missing for much of the second period, along with too many of his colleagues.
The comfortable nature of Kilkenny’s win wouldn’t have been predicted at the break, though. The Tribe appeared on course for a famous day, having earlier watched their minors record a ninth triumph at that level since their seniors last lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup. Yet, once again, they could not convert their talent into success on the senior stage, losing a sixth final since 1988.
The Cats have lost five deciders in that period – but they have also won 13, 11 of them under their ruthless, relentless manager Brian Cody. Kilkenny have talent aplenty too, of course, evidenced by their tally of 1-15 from play, registered by 10 different scorers, compared to Galway’s 0-10 from six scorers.
Kilkenny’s victory means they have drawn more senior finals (five) than Galway have ever won and, once the Cats got going, there was little likelihood that this would be the fourth consecutive senior decider to end all square.
Galway, and Canning at full-forward, did start strongly, the Portumna man scoring four of his side’s first five points. However, the Cats looked threatening every time they played long balls in and, in the 13th minute, Walter Walsh outstripped John Hanbury before playing the ball back to Reid, who coolly guided his shot past Callanan to take the lead, 1-3 to 0-5.
The goalscorer doubled the advantage from a free, but Galway then hit a purple patch, reeling off seven of the next eight scores. Jason Flynn was central to that, albeit on the right flank, scoring three long range frees and superbly setting up Whelan for a point. Still, the Cats always have claws and nearly netted again, when their keeper Eoin Murphy dropped a long free in around the square, but Galway corner-back Johnny Coen swept the sliotar over his own bar with Ger Aylward waiting to pounce.
From the puck-out, Galway goalkeeper Colm Callanan picked out Flynn near the right sideline for a superb score, but Galway were to breathe an even bigger sigh of relief in the next minute. Coen was even luckier than he had been with his ‘own point’: moving to close down Colin Fennelly, he caught him around the neck with his hurl and dragged him down – but the Loughrea man escaped with a yellow card.
Although Reid converted the subsequent free, Kilkenny were understandably furious and their mood wasn’t helped by Canning sending over a point from deep to make it 0-14 to 1-8. Kilkenny channelled their fury, though, and their response was their trademark mixture of brain and brawn.
First, they reconfigured their forwards, including putting Colin Fennelly at full-forward and pushing Richie Hogan up, then proceeded to get stuck into Galway. They got the sliotar flying in their favour with a touch of fortune, midfielder Conor Fogarty catching a mishit free and sending it over the bar from around halfway. But the Cats left little to chance after that, driving Galway back, battling ferociously for every ball.
Their forwards led from the front, both in terms of scoring and getting the opportunities in the first place, notably forcing two 65s which Reid converted.
The Tribes men were working hard in defence, but they offered little in response going forward. Indeed, of the three points they managed compared to Kilkenny’s nine between half-time and the hour mark, two of them came from his own half by defender David Collins. The second of those, coming as it did from one of the squad’s longest-serving players, and leaving just a goal between the teams, 1-17 to 0-7, might have served as inspiration.
Instead, Galway could not add anything more from play and only a Canning free at all before his largely meaningless late goal.
A major score a few minutes earlier might have made a difference, but 18-year-old Conor Whelan showed his inexperience, shooting weakly and wide into the side-netting in the 64th minute, then getting caught in two minds and slipping when in space in the final minute of normal time, although that did lead indirectly to Canning’s goal. Yet the feeling was that, even had Galway narrowed the gap, Kilkenny would simply have stretched it again.
It’s been pointed out that Kilkenny won this, their 36th All-Ireland, without meeting any of the traditional big guns, beating Wexford, Waterford, and Galway (twice). Indeed, only Wexford have even lifted Liam in the last quarter-century – yet the Cats clearly remain a cut above all the rest.
The others may not be mice, but Kilkenny are the men.
MATCH STATS
Kilkenny: E Murphy; P Murphy, J Holden (capt.), S Prendergast; P Walsh (0-1), K Joyce, C Buckley; M Fennelly (0-2), C Fogarty (0-1); W Walsh (0-2), R Hogan (0-2), TJ Reid (1-7, 0-5 frees, 0-2 ‘65s’); G Aylward (0-2), C Fennelly (0-1), E Larkin (0-2); Substitutes: R Power (0-1) for Hogan (60); J Power for Aylward (62); Yellow cards: M Fennelly (42); C Fennelly (45); Aylward (60).
Galway: C Callanan; J Coen (0-1 ‘own point’), J Hanbury, P Mannion; A Harte, I Tannian, Daithi Burke; A Smith (capt.), David Burke (0-1); C Whelan (0-2), C Donnellan (0-1), J Glynn; J Flynn (0-4, 0-3 frees), J Canning (1-8, 1-5 frees), C Mannion; Substitutes: D Collins (0-2) for Harte (24); C Cooney for Smith (56); G Lally for Donnellan (64); S Moloney for Flynn (65); Blood subs: F Moore for Smith (43-45); Lally for Smith (51-52); Yellow cards: Coen (33); Daithi Burke (39); Smith (42).
Referee: J Owens (Wexford).
Attendance: 82,300.
