A sensational point from 45 metres on the left sideline by sub Declan McLoughlin in the 76th minute earned Galway a thrilling draw with champions Kilkenny in a high-class Leinster senior hurling championship second-round clash at UPMC Nowlan Park.
For long spells of the second half Galway looked troubled after they shipped a lot of damage early in the half, but they kept chasing and chasing and in the end their fourth sub produced a piece of magic to save the day and earn a share of the spoils.
How a draw will leave the counties in the long run is hard to know, but both will be happy enough with it as they don't want to lose ground to each other.
It was a big return to his home county for Galway manager Henry Shefflin, and he won't have been dissatisfied with a draw bearing in mind how the action unfolded.
The teams went in for the rests level at 0-16 [Kilkenny] to 1-13. However, against the wind, Kilkenny took control early in the new half. Billy Ryan set the grounds alight after he galloped 60 metres before shooting a point.
The crowd of 11,550 rose to salute that moment of brilliance. Quick fire points followed from TJ Reid [two frees] as the Cats went on to out-score Galway by 0-08 to 0-02 before the 51st minute was reached.
At that stage the home side led by 0-24 to 0-15 and they were looking good.
Kilkenny were having more joy working the ball up the field, although they enjoyed a let off when goalie Eoin Murphy moved smartly to smother a real goal chance on Kevin Cooney in the 40th minute.
When Daithi Burke hit the target for Galway from 75 metres in the 52nd minute it was a badly needed score. Cathal Mannion and Brian Concannon added to the gains as the Galway fightback got underway.
Kilkenny were defending a lead of 0-28 to 1-23 when sub Martin Keoghan sent a bullet of a shot across the face of the goal and wide. Galway hit back for a minor from Liam Collins which set the scene for McLoughlin to save the day.
Galway won the toss and elected to play against the wind. The action exploded into life, with the hurling played at 100mph and the level of skill high quality.
Within the opening 80 seconds alone Brian Concannon and Eoin Cody at the double posted points. Both were to be central characters during a high-scoring half, with Concannon helping himself to 1-04 from play while Cody clipped over four points, all from play.
The first big hit was delivered by Galway in the sixth minute. A fast, long ball out of defence by Jack Grealish was won well in the air by Brian Concannon, who quickly gained a yard on all in the home defence before heading straight for goal and blasting a rising shot past home goalie Eoin Murphy.
The visitors jumped 1-03 to 0-04 in front, but within minutes it was all level again, courtesy of Kilkenny points from John Donnelly and Cody again.
Galway took up the running again when Joseph Cooney took a good pass from Cianan Fahy before shooting a point in the 12th minute. They stayed in front until the 28th minute when a lovely Adrian Mullen point, created by a great pass from John Donnelly, levelled it at 1-10 to 0-13.
"Declan McLoughlin, Portumna. He's the man!"
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 30, 2023
It's finished all square between Kilkenny and Galway after a cracker at Nowlan Park.
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There was an exchange of scores after that before back to back points from corner-back Mikey Butler and TJ Reid [free] gave the home side the advantage. A brace of fine points from Evan Niland, one from play, the other a free, left it all square at 1-13 to 0-16 at the break.
Kilkenny opened the new half very well, but they just couldn’t shake off determined opponents who missed some good chances before salvaging a draw.
Kilkenny: E Murphy; M. Butler (0-01), H Lawlor, T. Walsh; D Blanchfield (0-01), R Reid, P Walsh; D Corcoran (0-02), C Fogarty; T Clifford (0-01), A Mullen (0-02), J Donnelly (0-02); B Ryan (0-02), TJ Reid (0-09, eight frees), E Cody (0-06)
Subs: M Keoghan (0-02) for Clifford (ht), C Kenny for P Walsh (46), A Murphy for Donnelly (65), C Buckley for Fogarty (73)
Galway: E Murphy; J Grealish, G McInerney, TJ Brennan; P Mannion (0-01), D Burke (0-01), J Cooney (0-01); C Fahy (0-01), R Glennon (0-01); C Mannion (0-01), C Cooney (0-01), K Cooney (0-01); C Whelan (0-02), B Concannon (1-05), E Niland (0-07, six frees)
Subs: J Flynn (0-01) for C Cooney (58), F Burke for R Glennon (60), L Collins (0-01) for C Fahy (65), D McLoughlin (0-01) for C Whelan (68)
Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).
