Kilkenny IHL- Galavan to the fore as Rower Inistioge claim first win

Michael Galavan gave a masterclass exhibition as he scored 12 points to help Rower-Inistioge cruise to victory against a disappointing challenge provided by Carrickshock on a pleasant summer's evening in Ballyhale last Friday night.

Galavan took the game by the scruff of the neck right from the outset as Rower-Inistioge were always in control and he was exceptional as a deep lying centre forward operating around midfield where some of his point taking from long distance was of the highest order.

Playing with wind advantage during the opening-half, Rower-Inistioge led 0-17 to 0-6 at half-time with Michael Galavan registering eight points in total in that half hours hurling, five of those coming from play.

The opening quarter was competitive with Rower-Inistioge leading 0-7 to 0-4 before taking complete control during the second quarter as Carrickshock failed to lay a glove.

The outstanding Eoin O'Brien(2), Kevin Murphy(2), Tom Doyle, Tom Murphy, Pat Lyng, Conor Joyce and Jim Ryan were also on target for the winners during the opening-half with Carrickshock's first-half total coming from Jamie Power 0-4 (frees), Damian Walsh and Sean Moore who was their leading performer.

Rower-Inistioge remained in control throughout the third quarter and they led 0-20 to 0-10 by the midway point of the second half with further points coming from Michael Galavan with a superb long distance effort from play, Pat Lyng & Jim Ryan.

Michael Rice and John Dalton were introduced as half-time substitutes, and the current inter-county senior selector was on target with a point from play while Sean Moore (2) & Jake O'Dwyer were also on the mark for Carrickshock during the third quarter.

Both sides five points each in the final quarter with Kevin Murphy, Michael Galavan & Eoin O'Brien on the mark for the mark for the victors while Michael Rice & Jake O'Dwyer kept the scoreboard ticking over for Carrickshock.

Overall, it was a very impressive and assured performance by Rower-Inistioge and apart from the exploits of Michael Galavan, Eoin O'Brien was outstanding throughout as he caused endless amount of problems for the opposition defence while Pat Lyng gave an exceptional display at wing-back and he also scored two points from play.

Jim Ryan and George Murphy were others to impress for the winners.

Sean Moore was Carrickshock's leading performer as he scored three points from play at wing-back while Michael Rice, Jake O'Dwyer & Jamie Power kept plugging away on an evening where they were always second best.

Carrickshock know themselves that they have an awful lot of work to do with this result following on from an eight point defeat to near neighbours Dunnamaggin in Round 1.

Teams and Scorers

Rower-Inistioge: Michael Galavan (0-12, 0-5 frees); Eoin O'Brien, Kevin Murphy (0-3 each); Pat Lyng, Jim Ryan (0-2 each); Tom Doyle, Tom Murphy, Conor Joyce (0-1 each)

Carrickshock: Jamie Power (0-5, 0-4 frees); Jake O'Dwyer (0-4, 0-2 frees); Sean Moore (0-3); Michael Rice (0-2); Damian Walsh (0-1)

Rower-Inistioge: Paddy Lyng; Joe Lyng, Kieran Joyce, Ruaidhri Delaney; Jack Walsh, George Murphy, Pat Lyng; Eoghan Lyng, Tom Doyle; Tom Murphy, Jim Ryan, Michael Galavan; Eoin O'Brien, Conor Joyce, Kevin Murphy.

Carrickshock: Dan Blanchfield; Eddie Dunphy, Padraig Lennon, James Grace; Sean Moore, John Power, John Cahill; Mikey Murphy, Damian Walsh; Kevin Farrell, Jamie Power, Jake O'Dwyer; Aaron Roche, Kieran Conway, Eanna Martin.

Subs: Michael Rice, John Dalton, Joseph Aylward, Eoin Crowley.

Referee: Eddie Crowley (Mooncoin)