Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round 1

Galway 5-18, Offaly 2-15

Offaly battled gamely but Galway blasted five goals at Bord na Móna O’Connor Park in the opening round of this season’s Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.
The Faithful County went toe-to-toe with the All-Ireland champions for most of the opening half, but Galway’s second goal gave them a five point cushion at the break.
Three more green flags stretched their lead as the second half wore on, with their powerful attacking unit putting the home side under constant pressure.
Offaly net-minder Eoghan Cahill was a man-of-the-match contender with a string of fine saves, including one from a well-struck penalty by Joe Canning early on.
Prior to that, debutant Brian Concannon tapped home Galway’s firs goal in the fifth minute, after Conor Cooney’s low drive came back off the upright.
But after Cahill denied Canning, Offaly surged forward and Shane Dooley fired home an unstoppable shot past James Skehill.
It was nip-and-tuck for the next 20 minutes but a Joseph Cooney goal approaching half time gave Galway a 2-9 to 1-7 interval advantage.
Galway were never threatened in the second half, despite the best efforts of Ben Conneely and Shane Kinsella for the Faithful County.
Concanon recorded his second goal in the 44th minute, even though a quick-fire 1-1 from Joe Bergin and Daniel Currams reduced Offaly’s deficit to 3-12 to 2-10.
Galway stepped it up again and with further goals from Conor Whelan and substitute Jason Flynn, they returned home with two points in the bag.
Offaly must travel to Nowlan Park next Sunday for Round 2, while Galway have a bye and will host The Cats in two weeks’ time.
Scorers for Galway: Joe Canning 0-8 (6fs, 165), Joseph Cooney 1-4, Brian Concannon 2-1, Conor Whelan 1-1, Jason Flynn 1-0, Conor Cooney 0-2, Cathal Mannion and Sean Loftus 0-1 each.
Scorers for Offaly: Shane Dooley 1-9 (8fs), Joe Bergin 1-1, David King 0-2, Dan Currams, Shane Kinsella,and Eoghan Cahill (f) 0-1 each.
GALWAY: James Skehill; Adrian Tuohy, Daithi Burke, John Hanbury; Padraig Mannion, Gearoid McInerney, Aidan Harte; Johnny Coen, David Burke; Joe Canning, Cathal Mannion, Joseph Cooney; Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney, Brian Concannon.
Subs: Sean Loftus for Coen (58), Jason Flynn for Conor Cooney (58), Niall Burke for Cathal Mannion (63), Ronan Burke for Harte (65), Jonathan Glynn for Canning (66).
OFFALY: Eoghan Cahill; Tom Spain, Sean Gardiner, Ben Conneely; Damien Egan, Pat Camon, Brendan Murphy; David King, Shane Kinsella; Oisin Kelly, Joe Bergin, Conor Mahon; Shane Dooley, Dan Currams, Colin Egan.
Subs: Cillian Kiely for Mahon (52), Sean Ryan for Murphy (58), Paddy Murphy for Colin Egan (60), Thomas Geraghty for Currams (62), Paddy Rigney for Spain (68).
REFEREE: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).