Tribesmen have final revenge in mind

LAST year’s heartbreaking All-Ireland minor final reversal still grates amongst the Galway hurling fraternity. But they have the opportunity for redemption in tomorrow afternoon’s decider in Croke Park.

Kilkenny are in the opposition corner once more and the Galway camp wouldn’t forget the devastating manner in which they lost out last September (3-6 to 0-13). Danny Purcell’s late goal secured the Cats’ success, but after bossing the game for long stretches, Galway were left to rue the concession of cheap goals.

Galway manager Mattie Murphy is optimistic they can avenge that defeat. “We have our homework done at this stage. If the right questions come up, we’ll be fine but the important thing is not to panic if we get some surprises. The lads know what has to be done to get over the line. We have nine of last year’s squad involved and eight of them would have played in the championship at some stage, so lack of experience shouldn’t be an issue for us.”

Galway’s sublime display in the semi-final when they defeated Waterford has made them strong favourites but Murphy is adamant that Kilkenny cannot be discounted.

“It is never easy to beat a Kilkenny team. If I was doing the odds on this match, it wouldn’t be far off a 50-50 match. There are never more than a few points between the sides when the meet. The burden of expectation is worrying, but we cannot control what people think. We are quietly confident that if we play as we can, we won’t be far away.”

Kilkenny boss Richie Mulrooney is priming his charges to repeat last year’s feat. Mulrooney is well aware Galway will be strongly motivated for this tie.

“Galway are warm favourites and they’ll be well up for this match after last year. We wouldn’t expect them not to be highly motivated. But our lads are equally motivated. We’re not concerned with what happened last year, all we’re concentrating on is this tie. Last year’s experience I think helps our lads in their preparation and build-up to the match. But it doesn’t mean they’ll play any better than they did last year, just that they’ll be familiar with the surroundings.”

Mulrooney reckons their compelling semi-final tie with Tipperary will stand to his players.

“The Tipperary game was a fantastic match with the quality particularly high. The general public seem to write off losing provincial finalists but Tipperary just didn’t perform in the Munster final against Waterford. They produced a really high-quality game then against us. It was a great game for us to win and we’re thrilled to be in the final now. It just shows the tremendous work that is being done in hurling around Kilkenny.”

Both management setups have tweaked their starting line-ups. Kilkenny draft in the Dicksboro pair of Danny Kenny and Martin Gaffney, with Willie Phelan and Ger Aylward making way. Kenny takes over the full-back position from Phelan, who has been ruled out with a broken collarbone, while Gaffney replaces Aylward at right corner-forward.

For Galway, Matthew Keating replaces John Brehony at right half-back, while there is also a positional change of note as dual player Brian Flaherty moves from wing-forward to centre-back. Domhnall Fox goes in the opposite direction.

Galway’s dazzling array of attacking talents was key to their semi-final dismantling of Waterford. Kilkenny defensive stalwarts Joe Lyng and Richie Doyle will need to be in top form if they are to nullify the Tribesmen and they’ll need scores from Geoff Brennan, Sean Kehoe and Walter Walsh.

But if Galway’s attack hits the right notes, it could decide the game. Centre-forward Niall Burke is in superb form, yet it is their inside trio that look most menacing. Captain Richie Cummins was a star of last year’s minor setup, full-forward Ronan Badger banged in a beautiful goal against Waterford and Shane Maloney was inspiring for the U16 county team in last weekend’s All-Ireland championship. That combination could be the deciding factor

Verdict: Galway