Injuries struck Kilkenny before and during this Leinster senior championship clash at UPMC Nowlan Park, but it didn't hamper their hurling as they turned on the style and dismissed weak Galway with ease, in what turned out to be a low-key opener to their six-in-a-row bid in the province.
Sharpshooter TJ Reid, scorer of over 700 points during his career to date, was lost to injury before the game. Then Adrian Mullen and Shane Murphy suffered ankle and leg injuries respectively during the first-half.
Yet the Cats simply drove on, and a 12-point win was a signal of their intent going forward.
Galway lost the initiative early in the second-half when they conceded unanswered points to Mikey Carey and two to Eoin Cody (one free) as the opposition jumped 1-17 to 0-11 ahead.
That scoring blast was a bit of a jolt to the senses, but it was a Kilkenny goal in the 57th minute that broke Galway, and then a third in the 71st minute finished them off.
Cody crashed home a lovely individual goal shortly before the hour mark, sprinting past four defenders before blasting the winners 2-22 to 0-17 clear.
HT: KIK 2-22 GAL 0-17
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 19, 2025
Eoin Cody gets Kilkenny's second goal to put them 11 ahead.
📺 Watch @rteone & @rteplayer
📻 @rteradio1
📱 updates 👇
https://t.co/kcWEQK2JZc pic.twitter.com/MCWBv6AJTg
The Galway attack was generally off colour, but they put four scores together by Gavin Lee, Conor Cooney, Cathal Mannion and Conor Cooney nearing the end to get into the area of respectability.
However, the ever-hungry Cats weren’t finished. In injury time, their attacker of the season to date, Martin Keoghan netted the third goal after flicking a long ball from Stephen Donnelly into the net.
Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng will be happy with this opening effort as the Cats head to Antrim next weekend. The defence was sure-footed and tight, with Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Carey and Richie Reid all on top of their game.
In the attack their new arrival from Kerry, Fionán Mackessy, couldn’t have expected any more on his championship debut. He grabbed four points (one free, one 65), and two of the scores were from huge distances.
Keoghan and Cody also showed up well, as did Billy Ryan, who was very creative throughout. The midfield pairing of Jordan Molloy (0-03) and Cian Kenny (0-02) did well too, as handsome returns would suggest.
The opening exchanges lacked the fury of a do-or-die championship clash as both sides played the possession game.
Luck appeared to be going against Kilkenny when they lost Mullen and defender Murphy to injury by the 22nd minute. They didn't blink, however.
HT: KIK 1-14 GAL 0-11
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 19, 2025
A look at the point from Fionán Mackessy just before the half-time mark. Kilkenny leading at the break.
📺 Watch @rteone & @rteplayer
📻 @rteradio1
📱 updates 👇
https://t.co/kcWEQK2JZc pic.twitter.com/WJq0AaTMxA
The Cats maintained great focus although Galway were always close to them. During the opening 58 seconds Tiernan Killeen and Molloy swapped points to set the trend for a close-scoring half during which the scores were level six times.
The main score of the half was a goal for Kilkenny in the third minute. Mullen flicked the ball home from close quarters after a stinging low drive by Keoghan had been blocked on the line by Fintan Burke.
Galway hit back with scores from Cianan Fahy, Declan McLoughlin and John Fleming to get back on terms. Shortly after losing Murphy, Kilkenny recovered the lead they were to hold to the finish when the hugely impressive Kenny placed Keoghan for a point (1-07 to 0-09).
Kilkenny drove on strongly from there, and at half-time they led by 1-14 to 0-11. The entertainment value for the 8,243 crowd didn’t get wild at the winners’ sharp blast after the turn, but still Kilkenny performed at a level that suggested they had their eyes on another Leinster title.
Kilkenny: E Murphy; M Butler, . Lawlor, S Murphy; M Carey (0-02), R Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny (0-02), J Molloy (0-03); A Mullen (1-00), J Donnelly (0-01), F Mackessy (0-04, 1 56, 1f); B Ryan (0-02), M Keoghan (1-02), E Cody (1-05, 2fs).
Subs: S Donnelly (0-02) for Mullen (inj 16); D Blanchfield for S Murphy (inj 22); T Walsh for Blanchfield (60); H Shine for Donnelly (62); L Hogan (0-01) for Billy Ryan (65).
Galway: D Fahy; J Grealish, F Burke, D Morrissey; P Mannion, G Lee (0-01), TJ Brennan (0-01); C Fahy (0-02), T Monaghan; J Fleming (0-02), C Mannion (0-10, 6f), T Killeen (0-01); C Whelan (0-01), B Concannon, D McLoughlin (0-01).
Subs: C Cooney (0-02) for McLoughlin (47); R MacLeannain for T Monaghan (47); . Burke for T Killeen (52); D Burke for J Fleming (59); A Burns for TJ Brennan (63).
Referee: S Stack (Dublin)
Watch The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
