JUST PURRFECTION!

Title drive was never in doubt for Cats

- BY KARL O'KANE

SIX-IN-A-ROW in Leinster for Kilkenny and it never looked in doubt at Croke Park yesterday.

Derek Lyng's men are now firmly on a collision course with a Limerick side set to face Dublin or Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-final in a fortnight's time.

Whether they're properly tested or not, Kilkenny were very impressive in landing a 77th provincial title, as Galway's wait for Leinster crown number four stretches into an eighth year.

A late spurt from 13 points back on 58 minutes put some gloss on the scoreline, but Micheál Donoghue's side were badly beaten, particularly in the third quarter.

Saying that, for a fleeting moment it looked like Derek Lyng might have started wheeling in the subs too soon as his 58th-minute double change was followed by a Galway 1-6 burst without reply.

The lead was down to four at one stage after Cathal Mannion went short with a free for Brian Concannon to stick it in the roof of the net on 63 minutes and spark a Galway revival.

But with Kilkenny under pressure Eoin Murphy was only looking in one direction. TJ Reid duly plucked the ball from the skies and found Adrian Mullen for a relieving 67th-minute score - his fourth from play.

Kilkenny had more firepower in general with Martin Keoghan topscoring from play with 2-2.

The Galway starting attack shot just 1-9 from play compared to Kilkenny's 3-12 from play.

The game-defining moment saw Martin Keoghan race back 20 yards to turn the ball over with a hook, before feeding Reid for a 57th-minute goal that put Kilkenny 12 points clear.