And so we still wait for that test...
There was a buzz around the place, satisfaction that Kilkenny, having dominated their own provincial championship for the past dozen years and more (going for six-in-a-row, and an unprecedented 12 in 13 seasons), were again getting the test everyone had hoped for when Galway were invited into the province in 2009. There was anticipation also, anticipation that Galway, having played with such determination and self-belief in that opening half, and with the wind now behind them, would drive on in the second half, ask questions of Kilkenny they hadn’t been asked in this province at this stage for many a year, see how they would react if they were pushed to the wire.
Halfway into the second half, however, that buzz was gone, was long, long gone. It wasn’t that Kilkenny exploded into life, though eight points to one in those decisive 18 minutes did take the life out of the game; it was that Galway imploded. From a positive, decisive, tactically astute first half performance, wing-forwards lying deep to offer protection to the defence against that strong wind, long direct ball forward to a forward line that was asking questions of the Kilkenny rearguard (the Damien Hayes goal came from a huge, clearance from his own half by midfielder Ger Farragher), Galway became a shapeless, hopeless mess.
