Kilkenny rise to the occasion

Hurling All-Ireland Under-21 final: Kilkenny 2-13 Galway 0-12 Three All-Irelands in the space of eight days, an exceptional haul even by Kilkenny's standards, was the reward for yesterday's success in the Erin All-Ireland under-21 hurling final at Thurles. Opponents Galway were heading the other direction on history's axis with a sixth defeat from the past seven finals.

So the sorrowful mysteries of Galway's record at this level continued, as the less-fancied Leinster champions did what Kilkenny teams are wont to do: rose to the occasion, took emphatic control and won comfortably.

The difference between the teams was evident all the way through. Even when Galway were maintaining parity in the first half, their scores were coming from placed balls and they weren't posing much threat in attack. Kilkenny always looked more menacing, although the scores weren't coming in the early stages.

"The better team won," said a downbeat John Hardiman, manager of Galway, afterwards. "It was one of those days when we couldn't get away or make the space."

These difficulties were evident in the dismal statistics for the Connacht side's attack. None of the original forwards scored from play and it was left to Ger Farragher - himself not terribly effective in open play - to raise flags from frees. Earlier than strictly necessary in the second half, Farragher started to take pops at goal from close-in frees but found Kilkenny's goal impenetrable.

The biggest problem set for the winners' defence was the introduction of minor captain Niall Healy, scorer of 1-10 in last week's narrow All-Ireland final defeat. His willingness to take on the Kilkenny backs was rewarded with two points and the question arose as to why he hadn't been brought on earlier.

"We were tempted to start him," said Hardiman, "but he had a thumb injury and after the disappointment of last week we felt it wasn't fair to start him."

Kilkenny's defence played well even if they weren't being asked the hardest of questions but there was no mistaking their assurance under such pressure as Galway mustered. Canice Hickey, the latest in his immediate family's already long list of full backs, was well in control and all around him his colleagues performed efficiently.

Their Galway counterparts had more to do and battled well in the first half. Adrian Cullinane cleared off the line in the 17th minute and a breakout move up the field yielded a free, which Farragher uncharacteristically sent wide.

A score in the circumstances would have been a significant lift for Galway. They added a point in the 23rd minute to lead 0-6 to 0-5 but it would be their last time to be in that position.

Senior footballer Kevin Brady hurled well in the first half, using his pace to drive down the wing and landing two points. Galway's difficulty was in finding him a partner to counter Shane Hennessy's and Tommy Walsh's developing superiority around the middle. Richie Murray was tried to no avail and four minutes before the break, the shutters began to come down.

Michael Rice had an excellent match for Kilkenny. Starting at full forward he moved around, won possession and rarely wasted a ball. In the 26th minute he drifted a ball into Aidan Fogarty who finished to the net. Fogarty was presented with a point chance from the same source before half-time and Kilkenny led 1-7 to 0-7 at the break.

Having had the advantage of the wind, Galway needed to get stuck in if they were to stay in touch but disaster struck within seconds of the restart. Tony Regan fumbled a ball at the back and Peter Cleere won possession. He flicked it across goal to Conor Phelan who shot the second goal.

Phelan ended up with 1-4, an accurate reflection of the amount of ball he won and his accuracy in finishing. Trailing by seven points, Galway looked unlikely to find a way back into the match. Healy injected some danger but the closest they got was four points at the end of the third quarter.

Kilkenny simply responded by knocking off four unanswered points - the last a great, persistent run by Ken Coogan and a good pass to Cleere for the score - to set the margin at eight going into the last 10 minutes. Farragher's first attempt at goal from a free was well saved by David Herity in the 52nd minute but Galway were wasting possession around the middle by running it too far down Kilkenny's defensive cul de sacs.

KILKENNY: D Herity; G Joyce, C Hickey, M Phelan; K Coogan, J Tyrell (capt.), J J Delaney; S Hennessy (0-4, all frees), T Walsh (0-2); C Phelan (1-4), P Cleere (0-1), W O'Dwyer; A Fogarty (1-1), M Rice, B Dowling (0-1). Subs: S O'Neill for Dowling (44 mins), E McCormack for Cleere (56 mins).

GALWAY: A Divinney; D Collins, T Og Regan, F Moore (capt.); S Kavanagh, E Lynch, A Cullinane; K Brady (0-2), B Mahony; D Hayes, T Tierney, R Murray; K Burke, G Farragher (0-7, all frees), D Greene. Subs: N Healy (0-2) for Burke (34 mins), JP O'Connell (0-1) for Greene (42 mins), W Donnellan for Tierney (51 mins).

Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).