Kilkenny captain Larry Phelan lifts the trophy. Ken Sutton/INPHO

Kilkenny hit 4 goals to beat Galway and land Leinster MHC title

The Cats pulled clear in a strong second half showing.

Galway 1-08

Kilkenny 4-11

A STRONG SECOND-HALF performance saw Kilkenny land the Leinster MHC title, powering past Galway to win 4-11 to 1-8 in Portlaoise.

The game was initially a low-scoring affair as the rain poured down, with Kilkenny one point up – 0-3 to 0-2 – before Galway’s Cian Hannon hit the first goal approaching the 20-minute mark, shrugging off a defender before finding the net.

the-kilkenny-players-celebrate-with-the-trophy The Kilkenny players celebrate with the trophy. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO

Kilkenny raised their first green flag shortly after – Galway goalkeeper Oisín O’Connell failing to collect a low shot at the first attempt in difficult, wet conditions, before his clearance was intercepted, as Jake Mullen drove the ball low into the net.

Kilkenny hit the next two points through Mullen and Kevin Buggy before Galway added the last point of the first half, Ronan Cahalan’s effort leaving Kilkenny 1-6 to 1-3 up at half time.

The two teams traded points in the early stages of the second period but as conditions eased up Kilkenny began to pull clear, hitting a flurry of scores to move seven points ahead.

Ollie O’Donovan’s goal 20 minutes into the second half left the Cats 2-11 to 1-5 up.

ollie-odonovan-scores-his-sides-second-goal Kilkenny's Ollie O'Donovan scores his side’s second goal. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO

Diarmuid Behan added a third goal four minutes later, showing good reactions to follow-up on a shot that came back off the post.

Kilkenny wrapped up the scoring with the clock in the red, corner forward Cian Byrne firing a shot through a cluster of bodies to bag their fourth goal, securing a 12-point win.

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