Micheál Donoghue relieved as Galway's champions dodge a shock

Galway 1-19 Antrim 1-16: After an hour of average hurling Micheál Donoghue’s Galway finally showed their class to launch the defence of their league and championship titles with victory over Antrim at Pearse Stadium.

Galway scored seven of the last eight points to carve out a three-point win in Salthill, but an animated Donoghue admitted he was hugely concerned that his side could have started 2018 off on a bum note.

A goal from Conor McCann five minutes into the second half gave Antrim the lead, which they built into a three-point advantage by the 56th minute, but from there their challenge collapsed as Galway’s bench made a real impact.