Hayes hurting as Galway regroup

AT one point yesterday, Damien Hayes rolled up the legs of his jeans to show the swelling in his injured left knee but it is damage of a mental rather than a physical nature which is dominating his thoughts this week.

Last Sunday’s meeting between Kilkenny and Galway was supposed to be the Leinster final from heaven after over a decade of hellish hammerings handed out by the Cats to the likes of Wexford and Offaly. The reality was very different.

On the face of it, a seven-point defeat was not the worst beating in the world, but Hayes takes no solace in a scoreline that cannot hide the fact that Galway failed to bring their A-game to the table.