Galway's ability to remain calm when Kilkenny came storming back into last Sunday's Leinster SHC final replay was a pleasing factor for their manager Micheál Donoghue.

The Tribesmen produced a devastating opening half to all but bury their opponents by the midway whistle, and for a lot of teams that would have been game over.

However, Kilkenny were the opposition on this occasion and when the Cats outscored Galway by 3-07 to 0-05 from the end of the first half until the 54th minute, it looked as if the Bob O'Keeffe Cup would be heading Noreside.

To their credit though, Galway showed a coolness that may not have been present in their game in the past as they reeled off a number of points to defend their title.

"All credit to Kilkenny for coming back but our boys showed no panic. Their use of the ball, their determination, their quality and bravery to use the ball at that stage was very evident," Donoghue explained to the Connacht Tribune.

"It was about learning from last week and areas of improvement. I thought in the second half last week when we had quality ball going in that's where our scores came from, so there was huge emphasis on that this week to try and create those opportunities and as I said, the lads were well focused and well up for it."

You can follow all of this weekend's action from the All-Ireland SFC Super 8s and All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals on the hoganstand.com live match tracker.

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