All-Ireland Hurling Championship 2015: Kilkenny vs. Galway Score and Reaction

Kilkenny won the 128th All-Ireland Hurling Championship final by beating Galway by four points, 1-22 over 1-18. It was the proverbial game of two halves, with Galway dominant before the break before collapsing completely in the second half.

Consistent pressure on the man in possession defined Galway's first-half performance. Platoons of three and four players constantly swarmed around the ball to deny chances and force turnovers.

There was one eyebrow-raising selection in Galway's team news. It involved the decision to start Padraig Mannion along the full-back line. Mannion was victimised in that position during the semi-final against Tipperary, according to Sky Sports GAA expert Jamesie O'Connor.

As for Kilkenny, danger men TJ Reid and Richie Hogan were placed in the half-forward line. But it was Galway full forward Joe Canning who opened the scoring, striking a point from a free covering a distance of 45 yards.

Canning eventually added another point to his tally, but only after Kilkenny duo Michael Fennelly and Ger Aylward struck ones of their own. Yet Canning soon fired back, staking Galway to 0-3 after the ball had been recycled.

At this point, the pace of play was frantic, end-to-end stuff, including plenty of physicality. To illustrate the point, Kilkenny missed a chance wide and Galway's response was immediate. Cyril Donnellan added another point.

Pressure in the middle third was reaping huge rewards for Galway. So was the ploy to spring Canning as quickly as possible. The crafty forward was consistently getting on the wrong side of Cats' full-backs.

But with Galway leading by two at 0-5, Reid finally exerted his influence, striking a goal for a 1-3 score and 6-5 overall lead. That was the cue for Kilkenny to apply their own pressure in the midfield.

Reid struck again, this one a long-range single point from a free. Yet just as they had in the semi-final, Galway kept hanging around. The Cats led 8-7 at the 20-minute mark, before an awesome hit from Jason Flynn off a free levelled things and emphasised Galway's dogged persistence.

Flynn later struck another marathon-length drive to push Galway two points in front at 10-8. A crowded middle and pressure on the ball was Galway's ticket to the lead.

It also helped that Galway centre-back Iarla Tannian began bossing Reid, particularly in the air from puckouts. Once they seized possession, Galway regularly stretched Kilkenny with first-time balls down the sides, pulling the defensive line all over the place.

After two more Galway points, Richie Hogan finally offered an answer for Kilkenny, but the Cats remained three points adrift. Despite the goal though, Hogan, like Reid, was struggling to exert his usual creative influence.

Johnny Coen received a yellow card when a red was more appropriate after he cynically corralled Fennelly around the neck when he was clean through on goal. Truly a fortunate escape for Galway, as Irish Independent writer Jackie Cahill put it:

At half-time, Galway led by three at 0-14 over 1-8. Sky Sports hurling Twitter showed the scorecard, along with the key statistics:

Two things stood out. Galway were being efficient with their chances from less possession. Also, Kilkenny was yielding too many frees, gifting points to their fired-up opponents.

That familiar pattern resumed at the start of the second half when Fennelly was crowded out by a robust trio of defenders and forced into turning over possession. Kilkenny's full forward desperately needed more support and better supply.

A free from Reid after a foul from Galway's Daithi Burke brought the Cats to within one. Aidan Fogarty had notched Kilkenny's first point of the half. Another Reid free evened the scores at 14 as the champions turned the screw.

Hogan later levelled things at 15 as Kilkenny's cerebral duo become more relevant. Reid then blasted a free for a 1-13 score and a single-point lead.

Kilkenny's attacking play now had more verve and quality. Fennelly was winning the long balls and playing smart reverse passes to set half- and corner-forwards free.

Walter Walsh moved Kilkenny to 1-14, but Galway answered back via Conor Whelan with the aid of Hawkeye technology. Now it was 17-16 overall to the Cats with less than 20 minutes left.

Another free from Reid, along with points from forwards Eoin Larkin and Aylward, staked Kilkenny into a commanding one-goal lead:

Reid was really pulling the strings, offering excellent supply form multiple angles.

Canning, who had gone in missing in action after the break, fired a free wide with his team trailing by three late on. But he made amends by making a more difficult shot for his eighth point of the final.

A pair of goals from Fennelly pushed Kilkenny to 1-22. Not even an heroic injury-time goal from Canning made a difference.

Sean Moran of the Irish Times had claimed before the game that Galway now had an "attacking orchestra for Canning to lead rather than perform solo."

But he was back to his overwhelmed, one-man band act in the second half at Croke Park.

Kilkenny retained their championship thanks to Reid's inspired second half. Manager Brian Cody was understandably euphoric, per the GAA's official Twitter feed:

The victory has earned the Cats a 36th All-Ireland senior title:

Cody was full of praise for his team's revival after the break:

While Kilkenny cemented their status at the top of the spot, Galway is still without a championship win since 1988. The players will know their second-half capitulation threw away a great chance to end that drought this year.