“I’LL KEEP THIS SHORT and sweet,” said Kilkenny captain John Donnelly on the winning podium at the end.
On the occasion of their 77th Leinster championship, having borne witness to the events in Limerick the night before, the Bob O’Keefe Cup feels like small fry.
Kilkenny are the winners. Who was going to celebrate it? The players? Hardly.
Their victory owed so much to the influence of their veteran class.
In the first three minutes, Kilkenny landed three high balls in the direction of TJ Reid, but on each occasion his marker Fintan Burke did enough to get the ball out of the danger zone.
In fact, the Shamrocks Ballyhale man was frozen out of open play until the 12th minute when a fetch and handpass fed John Donnelly for a point.
His ticket into the contest was to be the beneficiary of a few frees and from the 25th to 27th minutes he might have had three alone only for the final one tailing wide.
But you can only keep that kind of assassin quiet for so long. A John Donnelly ball in just two minutes from the break was fielded by Reid. A couple of minutes earlier, he tried to wriggle free after taking a similar delivery and was blown for steps.
Undeterred, he bounded into a central position after carrying the ball on the stick. He let fly and while Eanna Murphy kept out his bouncing shot, it fell nicely to Martin Keoghan to shovel to the net.
That left the scores 1-9 to 0-8 in Kilkenny’s favour.
The sight of Burke then being replaced and coming off the pitch with a limp was a nervous one for Galway hearts.
Galway had put effort into their first half. Right up to the goal the was a feel of tit for tat with the scoring, but their inability to get Conor Whelan and Brian Concannon on the ball hints at a strategic failure.
Quite simply, they refuse to let the ball into the inside line. They run the ball and shoot from distance and it isn’t – and hasn’t – worked this season.
We qualify this by saying that ball inside has to be a certain type of ball inside. Galway ‘lorrying ball’ – in the words of manager Micheál Donoghue – was only having the effect of allowing Huw Lawlor to showcase his incredible vertical leap and catching range.
After the break, another worry emerged. In the course of conceding the goal to Mossy Keoghan, Galway’s stand-in goalkeeper Eanna Murphy had shipped a knock. Another collision with John Donnelly had him holding his pain in apparent pain.
Eanna Murphy and John Donnelly have a coming together. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Once they emerged for the second half, a new goalkeeper with number 1 on his back arrived on the pitch. Not the regular goalkeeper Darach Fahy who was suspended, but Darragh Walsh of Turloughmore, who is new on the panel and hadn’t played a game at all for Galway, before this.
For the first 23 minutes of the second half, Kilkenny outscored Galway 1-9 to 0-4. While the Galway tactics became inexplicable, they did mix it up by pushing Conor Whelan to the inside line.
Advertisement
The second Kilkenny goal came about after Paddy Deegan’s effort from outfield was stifled by a tackle. The ball ran loose and went through Keoghan and Jordan Molloy who fed the unmarked TJ Reid. There was no stopping his bullet.
Some social loafing then seemed to grip the Cats. Since John Fleming’s point in the 16th minute, they went all the way to the 59th minute before anyone other than Cathal Mannion scored.
Then Seán Linnane landed a point and they caught fire, registering 1-6 unanswered. Substitute Tiernan Killeen grabbed two in a row before Mannion and Brian Concannon decided to cook up something funky.
With a gimme free available, Mannion went short to Concannon who stepped inside Huw Lawlor – for once – and lashed to the net.
Further points from Kevin Cooney and a Mannion free had them just four points down with four minutes left to play.
However, Adrian Mullan stepped up with a point when he had less room to swing than a phone box, Billy Ryan chipped in with one, and then came the decisive blow.
A ball in from Luke Hogan could have been a shot dropped short. Either way the debutant goalkeeper Walsh came, the ball hopped off his person and Mossy Keoghan was there to bat the loose ball home.
Afterwards, Walsh was distraught. The game wasn’t in his grip to lose. But it felt like it.
Scorers for Kilkenny: Martin Keoghan 2-2, TJ Reid 1-4 (0-4 frees), Adrian Mullan 0-4, Billy Ryan 0-3, Stephen Donnelly and Mikey Carey 0-2 each, Paddy Deegan, Jordan Molloy, John Donnelly 0-1 each.
Scorers for Galway: Cathal Mannion 0-11 (0-7 frees), Brian Concannon 1-0, Kevin Cooney 0-3, Tiernan Killeen 0-2, TJ Brennan, John Fleming, Tom Monaghan 0-1 each.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
29 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Reid and Keoghan second half goals help Kilkenny to sixth consecutive Leinster title
Kilkenny 3-22
Galway 1-20
“I’LL KEEP THIS SHORT and sweet,” said Kilkenny captain John Donnelly on the winning podium at the end.
On the occasion of their 77th Leinster championship, having borne witness to the events in Limerick the night before, the Bob O’Keefe Cup feels like small fry.
Kilkenny are the winners. Who was going to celebrate it? The players? Hardly.
Their victory owed so much to the influence of their veteran class.
In the first three minutes, Kilkenny landed three high balls in the direction of TJ Reid, but on each occasion his marker Fintan Burke did enough to get the ball out of the danger zone.
In fact, the Shamrocks Ballyhale man was frozen out of open play until the 12th minute when a fetch and handpass fed John Donnelly for a point.
His ticket into the contest was to be the beneficiary of a few frees and from the 25th to 27th minutes he might have had three alone only for the final one tailing wide.
But you can only keep that kind of assassin quiet for so long. A John Donnelly ball in just two minutes from the break was fielded by Reid. A couple of minutes earlier, he tried to wriggle free after taking a similar delivery and was blown for steps.
Undeterred, he bounded into a central position after carrying the ball on the stick. He let fly and while Eanna Murphy kept out his bouncing shot, it fell nicely to Martin Keoghan to shovel to the net.
That left the scores 1-9 to 0-8 in Kilkenny’s favour.
The sight of Burke then being replaced and coming off the pitch with a limp was a nervous one for Galway hearts.
Galway had put effort into their first half. Right up to the goal the was a feel of tit for tat with the scoring, but their inability to get Conor Whelan and Brian Concannon on the ball hints at a strategic failure.
Quite simply, they refuse to let the ball into the inside line. They run the ball and shoot from distance and it isn’t – and hasn’t – worked this season.
We qualify this by saying that ball inside has to be a certain type of ball inside. Galway ‘lorrying ball’ – in the words of manager Micheál Donoghue – was only having the effect of allowing Huw Lawlor to showcase his incredible vertical leap and catching range.
After the break, another worry emerged. In the course of conceding the goal to Mossy Keoghan, Galway’s stand-in goalkeeper Eanna Murphy had shipped a knock. Another collision with John Donnelly had him holding his pain in apparent pain.
Once they emerged for the second half, a new goalkeeper with number 1 on his back arrived on the pitch. Not the regular goalkeeper Darach Fahy who was suspended, but Darragh Walsh of Turloughmore, who is new on the panel and hadn’t played a game at all for Galway, before this.
For the first 23 minutes of the second half, Kilkenny outscored Galway 1-9 to 0-4. While the Galway tactics became inexplicable, they did mix it up by pushing Conor Whelan to the inside line.
The second Kilkenny goal came about after Paddy Deegan’s effort from outfield was stifled by a tackle. The ball ran loose and went through Keoghan and Jordan Molloy who fed the unmarked TJ Reid. There was no stopping his bullet.
Some social loafing then seemed to grip the Cats. Since John Fleming’s point in the 16th minute, they went all the way to the 59th minute before anyone other than Cathal Mannion scored.
Then Seán Linnane landed a point and they caught fire, registering 1-6 unanswered. Substitute Tiernan Killeen grabbed two in a row before Mannion and Brian Concannon decided to cook up something funky.
With a gimme free available, Mannion went short to Concannon who stepped inside Huw Lawlor – for once – and lashed to the net.
Further points from Kevin Cooney and a Mannion free had them just four points down with four minutes left to play.
However, Adrian Mullan stepped up with a point when he had less room to swing than a phone box, Billy Ryan chipped in with one, and then came the decisive blow.
A ball in from Luke Hogan could have been a shot dropped short. Either way the debutant goalkeeper Walsh came, the ball hopped off his person and Mossy Keoghan was there to bat the loose ball home.
Afterwards, Walsh was distraught. The game wasn’t in his grip to lose. But it felt like it.
Scorers for Kilkenny: Martin Keoghan 2-2, TJ Reid 1-4 (0-4 frees), Adrian Mullan 0-4, Billy Ryan 0-3, Stephen Donnelly and Mikey Carey 0-2 each, Paddy Deegan, Jordan Molloy, John Donnelly 0-1 each.
Scorers for Galway: Cathal Mannion 0-11 (0-7 frees), Brian Concannon 1-0, Kevin Cooney 0-3, Tiernan Killeen 0-2, TJ Brennan, John Fleming, Tom Monaghan 0-1 each.
Kilkenny
1. Eoin Murphy (Glenmore)
2. Mikey Butler (O’Loughlin Gaels) 3. Huw Lawlor (O’Loughlin Gaels) 4. Tommy Walsh (Tullaroan)
5. Mikey Carey (Young Irelands) 6. Richie Reid ( Shamrocks Ballyhale) 7. Paddy Deegan (O’Loughlin Gaels)
8. Cian Kenny (James Stephens) 9. Jordan Molloy (O’Loughlin Gaels)
10. John Donnelly (Thomastown) 11. Adrian Mullan (Shamrocks Ballyhale) 12. Billy Ryan (Graigue Ballycallan)
13. Stephen Donnelly (Thomastown) 14. TJ Reid (Shamrocks Ballyhale) 15. Martin Keoghan (Tullaroan)
Subs:
24. Luke Hogan (O’Loughlin Gaels) for Stephen Donnelly (59 mins)
18. David Blanchfield (Bennettsbridge) for Walsh (59 mins)
19. Shane Murphy (Glenmore) for Butler (67 mins)
20. Killian Doyle (Emeralds) for Molloy (70 mins)
23. Harry Shine (Dicksboro) for Ryan (73 mins)
Galway
16. Eanna Murphy (Thomas Larkins)
2. Padraic Mannion (Ahascragh Fohenagh) 3. Dáithí Burke (Turloughmore) 4. Fintan Burke (St Thomas’)
5. Cianan Fahy (Ardrahan) 6. Gavin Lee (Clarinbridge) 7. TJ Brennan (Clarinbridge)
8. Seán Linnane (Turloughmore) 9. David Burke (St Thomas’)
10. John Fleming (Meelick Eyrecourt) 11. Cathan Mannion (Ahascragh Fohenagh) 12. Tom Monaghan (Craughwell)
13. Conor Whelan (Kinvara) 14. Brian Concannon (Killimordaly) 15. Kevin Cooney (Sarsfields)
Subs:
17. Darren Morrissey (Sarsfields) for Burke (35 mins)
1. Darragh Walsh (Turloughmore) for Murphy (HT)
21. Ronan Glennon (Mullagh) for David Burke (44 mins)
23. Tiernan Killeen (Loughrea) for Fleming (54 mins)
24. Anthony Burns (Loughrea) for Monaghan (67 mins)
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
cool for cats Galway Hurling Kilkenny Leinster hurling final