Kilkenny 0-22 Galway 0-17: TJ Reid shoots Cats to Leinster Hurling Championship glory
Kilkenny are Leinster hurling champions for a third year in succession after a 0-22 to 0-17 win over Galway at Croke Park; TJ Reid shot 0-12 from placed balls, as the Cats led from the fourth minute to the final whistle
Sunday 5 June 2022 10:15, UK
All the talk before the Leinster final was around Henry Shefflin facing his native Kilkenny, but it was another Ballyhale man who stole the headlines as TJ Reid unerringly shot the Cats to victory.
The 2015 Hurler of the Year converted every placed-ball assignment he was faced with, as Kilkenny led from the fourth minute until the final whistle, holding off any attempted fightback from the Tribesmen.
The Nore-siders used the strong wind at their backs to perfection in the first half, with Adrian Mullen and Paddy Deegan picking off long-range scores.
They worked their way into a four-point lead as Eoin Murphy pulled off three first-half saves to keep Galway at bay.
Nonetheless, the accuracy of Conor Cooney from placed balls kept the Tribesmen in contention. The St Thomas' clubman picked off scores from both frees and a side-line, trading scores with Reid up the other end.
The Cats took a slender 0-11 to 0-9 advantage into half-time.
After the restart, Galway looked to land a blow but were unable to muster the power.
Reid's accuracy from frees proved to be a case of 'death by a thousand cuts' for Shefflin's side.
Cooney took care of the majority of his frees, but when he did slip up, it was all the more of a setback considering the efficiency of the opposition marksman.
Kilkenny pulled five points clear entering injury-time, and although Cooney and Padraic Mannion pulled it back to a one-score game, late points from Padraig Walsh and Adrian Mullen helped the Cats over the line for a deserved victory.
Focus at full-time turned to the managers, and after a three-minute stand-off in which neither moved towards the other, Brian Cody and Shefflin eventually shared a brief handshake.
Focus now turns to the All-Ireland series. Kilkenny have a bye to the last four, as Galway look to regroup in the quarter-finals.
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; Michael Carey, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan (0-2); Conor Fogarty, Adrian Mullen (0-4); Billy Ryan (0-1), TJ Reid (0-12, 0-10f, 0-1 '65), Richie Leahy (0-1); Cian Kenny, Martin Keoghan (0-1), Eoin Cody.
Subs: Conor Browne for Cian Kenny (ht), Walter Walsh for Richie Leahy (46), Padraig Walsh (0-1) for Billy Ryan (54), David Burke for Johnny Coen (61).
Galway: Eanna Murphy; Jack Grealish, Daithi Burke, Darren Morrissey; Padraic Mannion (0-1), Gearoid McInerney, Fintan Burke (0-1); Joseph Cooney (0-1), Johnny Coen; Tom Monaghan, Conor Cooney (0-9, 0-5f, 0-2 '65, 0-1sl), Cathal Mannion; Conor Whelan (0-4), Cianan Fahy (0-1), Brian Concannon.
Subs: Jason Flynn for Tom Monaghan (45), Ronan Glennon for Cianan Fahy (55), John Donnelly for Martin Keoghan (61), Gavin Lee for Brian Concannon (71).
