GALWAY 0-21
KILKENNY 0-14
Galway's minor hurlers got the county's All-Ireland double-header off to the perfect start with a well deserved win at Croke Park.
Donal O'Shea, Shane Jennings and Evan Duggan turned plenty of heads as the westerners came back from 0-10 to 0-9 down at the break to win the minor crown at a canter.
Galway's young charges entered the game as favourites after cruising to the final and, on their way, seeing off Kilkenny once already. The Cats had to negotiate nine matches to reach Croke Park - Galway needed just the three to get to the final - but looked the livelier of the two in the opening stages, racing into an 0-4 to 0-0 lead.
Ciarán Brennan, who was flagged as a player to watch by Kilkenny legend Tommy Walsh beforehand, scored a peach of a sideline cut - as did Jack Buggy - and a lovely score from play to give the Leinster side hope.
https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/1031152031715807235
Galway, inspired by Donal O'Shea, hung on in there even though his first half penalty went over the bar.
After the break, Galway put the boot down and scored with unerring accuracy. As soon as they edged in front, they upped their tempo and started to pull away.
Evan Duggan got perhaps the score of the game with his foray up the left flank, jink inside and composed finish over the bar.
https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/1031164743455830017
Galway still needed a Paddy Rabbitte save to keep Kilkenny at arm's length near the end but, truth is, they were good value for their win.
Jennings got the official TG4 man-of-the-match award but many were left in awe of the all-round brilliance of O'Shea, who is son of the former Tipperary hurling boss Eamon O'Shea.
https://twitter.com/Marty__8/status/1031162374781370368
https://twitter.com/gbfmsports/status/1031168666287714305
https://twitter.com/hawkeyesidekick/status/1031169497300910081
One for the future. One for now.
The only shame is that both sides could get to a final with such a disparity in the amount of games played. Every year, Galway only enter the championship at the quarter final stage whereas Kilkenny have to negotiate a tricky Leinster competition. The seniors and U21s are now in the Leinster championship but the minors only need to win their province to get to the knock-out stages.
One for the Croke Park chiefs to look at, we feel.
