Galway 2-15
Kilkenny 1-25
Not even a Joe Canning wonder goal could inspire Galway to victory this afternoon, with Kilkenny producing a powerful second half performance.
The sides remained in touch with one another in the opening half, TJ Reid and Canning both trading scores.
The first of the afternoon's goals came with an incisive Kilkenny break-away. A wave of black and amber surged down the pitch after a Galway attack broke down and the speed of the exchanges gave Reid enough time and space to round Colm Callanan and fire home.
That put Kilkenny seven points up, but not one to be outshone, Canning replied with a goal right out of the top drawer.
A long searching pass was sent lofted into the full forward line and in one fluid movement Canning collected the sliotair with one hand and spun around firing into the back of the net.
A score fit to win a championship. Kilkenny had other ideas.
A quick start for Galway in the second half saw them draw level through a Jason Flynn goal. Flynn peeled off his marker and with room still to run into, kept his powerful drive low into the bottom corner.
That was to be the best of Galway's second half endeavours, however, and as with any Brian Cody side, Kilkenny moved up through the gears.
A litany of scores from Eoin Larkin, TJ Reid and Ger Aylward was enough to kill off whatever challenge Galway could produce.
With the clocking ticking down and the margin at five points, there was nothing the Tribesmen could do to stop the Kilkenny juggernaut methodically breaking down their opposition.
It was a lesson in how to kill a game, an exhibition of scoring and, above all, a powerful statement of intent.
Reid, who garnered a 1-09 tally for the afternoon, said: "I wouldn’t say easy, but we got the job done. All-Ireland semi-final is a nice place to be: 70 minutes away from an All-Ireland final. We’re delighted, but work only starts now."
Scorers for Galway: Joe Canning 1-8 (0-7f), Jason Flynn 1-0, Cyril Donnellan 0-3, Fergal Moore, David Burke, Jonathon Glynn & Cathal Mannion 0-1 each.
Scorers for Kilkenny: TJ Reid 1-9 (0-5f, 0-1 65), Eoin Larkin & Richie Hogan 0-4 each, Ger Aylward 0-3 each, Walter Walsh & Colin Fennelly 0-2 each, Conor Fogarty 0-1.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
