Salthill serves up a sign of things to come as Galway beat Kilkenny

Galway 1-22 Kilkenny 2-11

The margin up to the hour mark was just three points and bizarrely so, given Kilkenny’s only two points from play had come in the first half via Luke Scanlon and Walsh, while their only scorer in the second half prior to their second goal was TJ Reid, all from placed balls.

Walsh’s disallowed goal in the 65th minute, after Bill Sheehan was judged to have dropped the hurley in setting him up, would have put three between the teams once more “and it would have given us a great lift!,” rued Kilkenny boss Brian Cody. “I am sure it was disallowed for a reason, but they had one disallowed in the first half (Brian Concannon) as well so it works that way.”