Higgins and Carr earn Galway promotion

GALWAY minor boss Mattie Murphy has rewarded Dean Higgins and Jack Carr for their dazzling showings when introduced as substitutes in their semi-final win over Clare, by naming them in his starting 15 for tomorrow afternoon’s All-Ireland final against Dublin.

Higgins, who shot 0-2 against Clare, and Carr, who grabbed 0-3 in the same game, are named at midfield and full-forward respectively. Keelan Cullinane and Owen Teagle are the two players to make way. There are a number of positional switches, including Padraic Mannion moving to left corner-back, Adrian Tuohy switching to right half-back and Billy Lane going to left half-forward.

Dublin boss Shay Boland has opted to stick with an unchanged team for the game and will hope for a reprisal of the stunning attacking form that was evident in their semi-final win over Waterford.

Ciaran Kilkenny, Cormac Costello and Paul Winters were on fire in that clash, accumulating a combined total of 6-10.

Galway have firepower of their own to call on with Shane Maloney, who was part of the county’s All-Ireland minor-winning side two years ago, striking 0-10 against Clare, while Gort’s Gerard O’Donoghue chipped in with 1-2. Paul Killeen and Sean Sweeney are strong defenders, while Padraig Brehony has been in good form at midfield.

Dublin, who shipped 5-13 against Waterford, will need to eradicate the slackness that was evident in their second-half play that day and will face a rearguard here that does not concede scores cheaply.

This is a massive occasion for hurling in the capital as Dublin contest their first All-Ireland minor final since 1983, when they lost out to Galway. They may experience a similar result here as the benefits of a serious test in their semi-final could stand to the Tribesmen.

Verdict: Galway