Young Cats wrap up the perfect year

KILKENNY became the first county in the history of the GAA to win four All-Ireland hurling titles in the one year when their Under-21 side beat Tipperary in a magnificent Bord Gais final at Croke Park yesterday.

On the balance of play they just about deserved the grand slam, but Tipperary can take a lot of positives from a game that hung on a knife edge after the Munster champions had whittled down a six point half-time deficit to just two with minutes to go.

Indeed the mood in the Tipperary camp at the final whistle was one of frustration at some of the refereeing decisions, but while no one was prepared to go on the record, it was clear they were very unhappy with James Owens’ decision to award Kilkenny a free out after Patrick Maher had a couple of defenders hanging off him as he made his way towards goal.