Galway aim to halt Kerry’s march to third minor title in a row

All-Ireland MFC Final: Galway v Kerry, Croke Park, Sunday, 1.15pm (TG4)

Holders Kerry haven’t so much qualified for the All-Ireland minor football final as bludgeoned their way to another decider. As Kildare manager Brendan Hackett acknowledged after his side’s 22-point semi-final humbling by the Kingdom: “We were just beaten by a way better team.”

That was Kerry’s second 22-point win of the championship and their third success by a double-digit margin from five games played.

Cork came closest to catching them in the Munster final, though six points still separated them after the hour.

Whisper it quietly but as Kerry close in on three minor titles in a row, a remarkable feat only achieved by three teams before – Kerry (1933), Dublin (1956) and Cork (1969) – those closest to the panel suggest this is the best batch yet.

Jack O’Connor guided Kerry to the 2014 and 2015 titles, while Peter Keane is in charge of the current bunch though the business of moulding and shaping them began long before either took over.

“Five years ago, the then Kerry chairman Jerome Conway set up a group to address underage structures in the county,” says Mickey “Ned” O’Sullivan, the former Kerry senior player and manager who had a stint in charge of the minors.

“I was part of the group and we were advised that there was an under-14, under-15 and undder-16 team that would win All-Ireland minors if properly looked after.

“The structures were set up and the under-15s and under-16s have won the All-Irelands and the under-14s are the present minor team. Before that it was left up to chance. It’s not going to be left up to chance in Kerry any more.”

Ominous thought

That’s an ominous thought, not just for Galway tomorrow but for the rest of the country given the quality and quantity of young Kerry players eyeing senior careers.

Of the current minors, David Clifford is shaping up as the pick of the bunch and his 0-8 against Kildare brought his championship takings to 1-27, 1-21 from play.

Along with full forward line colleague David Shaw and Billy Courtney, Michael Potts, Daniel O’Brien and Dara Moynihan, the two-footed Fossa forward was on the St Brendan’s, Killarney team that won the Hogan Cup in April and kicked a terrific 2-5.

“Clifford reminds me every day at training of no one else but Maurice Fitzgerald. I can see it in him,” says Gary McGrath, his school manager.

Still, even with Maurice Fitz’s ringer in Kerry’s ranks, Galway cannot be taken for granted.

“Donegal were the team everybody was talking about and Galway beat them well,” says Kerry manager Keane.

Managed by Stephen Joyce, the back-to-back Connacht champions’ curve has moved slowly upwards with comfortable wins over Roscommon, Mayo and Laois before overcoming favourites Donegal by four points. Robert Finnerty, son of former Mayo star Anthony Finnerty, hit 1-5 against Donegal.