No place to hide as Galway square up to the Cats again
GALWAY seek to claim a fourth Leinster senior hurling title since joining the provincial championship in 2009 when they meet old foes Kilkenny in this year’s decider at Croke Park on Saturday. Throw-in 6:15pm.
There is never any love-lost between Galway and Kilkenny and, while both have enjoyed their successes against the other over the past decade, the Cats overall championship record against the Tribesmen speaks for itself. Kilkenny have won 31 of the 46 championship meetings, with Galway claiming 12. There has been three draws.
Galway did win last year’s Leinster SHC meeting, 3-20 to 2-22, at Nowlan Park and, while the sides finished all square – 0-18 apiece – in their last Leinster final clash in 2018, the Tribesmen also came good in the replay to win 1-28 to 3-15.
That was the counties fifth time to face each other in a Leinster final since Galway’s first appearance in the decider in 2010. On that occasion, Kilkenny defeated the Westerners 1-19 to 1-12 but, two years later, Galway made amends as they won their first Bob O’Keeffe Cup with a 2-21 to 2-11 win over the Brian Cody’s men.
That came will live long in the Galway memory. In delivering a breath-taking display, the Tribesmen, captained by Fergal Moore, led 2-12 to 0-4 at half-time, with Joe Canning and David Burke netting the goals. They ran out comfortable 10-point winners, 2-21 to 2-11, as Cyril Donnellan helped himself to five points from play.
Although Galway lost their next three Leinster final appearances to Dublin (2013) and Kilkenny (2015 & 2016), they claimed their second provincial title with victory over Wexford on their All-Ireland winning run in 2017 before, as noted, they accounted for Kilkenny after a replay in the 2018 championship.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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