Aaron Niland hits 13 points as Galway hammer abysmal Kilkenny
Cathal Mannion scored six points for Galway in their victory over Kilkenny. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
The 21st century has witnessed many unprecedented things. We’ve seen self-driving cars, the first-ever image of a black hole, reusable rockets and food delivery robots. And now this: a Kilkenny team that simply folded.
Galway cruised to an 18-point win in front of 5,467 spectators in Pearse Stadium. A club championship that saw plenty of debate over the timing and venue of knockout games may be a contributing factor to a muted attendance. While Saturday night’s game was televised, last Sunday’s clash with Waterford wasn’t and only 4,134 supporters turned out for it.
Nevertheless, Micheál Donoghue’s rebuild is starting to take shape. Exciting prospect Aaron Niland hit 13 points in a standout display while Cathal Mannion struck six from play in a Man of the Match performance. The structure of the side is solid. Captain Darren Morrissey moved to wing-back, Pádraic Mannion manned the centre and Cillian Trayers continued his impressive form at the edge of the square. Tom Monaghan lined out in the inside line for the throw-in but the home side rarely operated with three inside.
It was all running and retreating and pure grit. Often, they had only two inside the opposition’s half. Kilkenny looked baffled by it. They went in trailing 0-15 to 0-9 having only scored seven points from play, with the wind. It was an outing, it should be said, that was too bad to be true. This was their biggest defeat in league or championship since 1954.
Galway hit 35 points from 50 shots. Every sub they brought on scored.
“We were second to everything, they won every breaking ball,” said Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng post-match, while also revealing there was a bug in the camp in recent weeks. He was keen to stress that was no excuse for the result. “We didn't win enough 50-50s at all there, from start to finish.”
The home side walked through the black and amber from the start. In the Leinster final last year, Galway struggled to work the ball out when Kilkenny conceded the puckout. There was a marked difference here. Kieran Hanrahan collected an early ball and took on Niall Shortall immediately. They worked it to Cian Daniels who was eventually fouled for a score, converted by Aaron Niland.
That short work was successful throughout. Kilkenny were living off scraps at the other side. Cian Kenny struck ten points, eight from play, with several from range. He carried a lonely fight.
Any hope of a second half spark was quenched with seven consecutive Galway scores. It became a point-scoring contest. The pick of them was a terrific long-range strike by Ronan Glennon, just edging out a superb sideline from Rory Burke.
The evening went from bad to worse when Mikey Carey pulled up with a hamstring injury. From there, Kilkenny collapsed. Mannion’s sixth came from seven shots and his final was on his right side. The time he had to take it was extraordinary.
Donoghue ran the bench to the delight of the home stand, who applauded warmly as the likes of Niland and Burke jogged off. Their defence was impressive too, with Joshua Ryan and Morrissey forcing several turnovers.
All the while, they would have known this test was facile. The target for this outfit is a Leinster title. Galway won the league encounter last year as well before two one-sided meetings when it mattered.
They will face eachother again in six weeks’ time for the Leinster championship clash. Even taking into account the forgiving nature of the round robin, there is little chance that fixture will bear much relation to this one.
A. Niland 0-13 (0-8 frees, 1 65); C. Mannion 0-6; R. Burke 0-4 (1 sdl); T. Monaghan, C. Whelan 0-2 each; C. Cooney, T. Killeen, E. Niland, O. Lohan, J. Rabbitte, R. Glennon, P. Mannion, TJ Brennan 0-1 each.
C. Kenny 0-10 (2 frees); E. Cody, L. Moore 0-2 each; T. Phelan, J. Donnelly, J. Molloy 0-1 each.
D. Fahy; J. Ryan, C. Trayers, K. Hanrahan; R. Glennon, P. Mannion, D. Morrissey;; T. Killeen, C Daniels; R. Burke, C. Mannion, D. Neary; T. Monaghan, C. Whelan, A. Niland.
C. Cooney for Neary, J. Rabbitte for Monaghan (53); T.J Brennan for Morrissey (59); E. Niland for Burke (62); O. Lohan for A. Niland (63).
A. Tallis; R. Garrett, M. Carey, I. Bolger; D. Blanchfield, D. Corcoran, P. Deegan; C. Kenny, J. Molloy; L. Moore, E. Cody, L. Connellan; N. Shortall, M. Keoghan, T. Phelan.
J. Donnelly for Connellan (29); I. Byrne for Moore (34-35, Temp); K. Doyle for Shortall (half-time); R. Reid for Deegan (46); S. Murphy for Carey (47); I. Byrne for Molloy (53).
C. Lyons (Cork).
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