Wade tips balance as Galway find big finish

Under-21 Hurling All-Ireland final/ Galway 1-15 Kilkenny 1-14: A bad afternoon for stereotypes. Trailing by three points with little more than five minutes remaining, it was Galway who dusted their fingers with four unanswered points and dipped into Kilkenny's pockets before deftly making off with the Erin All-Ireland under-21 hurling title in front of 7,363 spectators in Limerick yesterday.

The winning point was a cool piece of work. Niall Healy and Kenneth Burke kept the ball moving, placing top gun Kerrill Wade at the end of the move, and he rifled over the point seconds from the end of injury-time.

There was time for wing back John Dalton, who saw a lot of ball on the right-hand line, to surge on to a poor hand-pass and strike the last chance of the hour wide.

A breathless Vincent Mullins savoured the winning feeling after the presentation.

"The lads stuck to the task and stuck to the game-plan," said the Galway manager. "We were in trouble for long periods, but they came back. I thought it was going to be a draw, but thanks be to God we got the winning point. I thought it was gone and then we had a free to draw - I thought it's going to be a draw."

Wade dispatched that free seconds into injury time.

The award - for a wild pull - was vehemently disputed by Kilkenny, but Mullins was quick to draw attention to an incident before half-time when a shot from Burke looked to have crossed the bar with even Kilkenny goalkeeper Damien Fogarty raising his stick to follow the trajectory. But the attempt was waved wide.

"In fairness, we had a point before half-time and it was shown on TV," said Mullins. "That balanced it out."

After a lively and entertaining match, Kilkenny were crestfallen that the initiative had slipped as they had been looking comfortable for the county's first three-in-a-row at this grade.

They had started well with Cha Fitzpatrick creating the opening for Eoin Larkin's second-minute goal, the first score of an impressive 1-9. Galway steadied the match 10 minutes later.

Barry Cullinane - who added the hurling equivalent to his All-Ireland under-21 football medal - swept a crossfield ball to Wade, whose mazy run and nonchalant flick over an advancing defender set up Aongus Callanan for the Galway goal.

Of the chances missed by Kilkenny, none was as enticing as the 15th-minute ball that found two forwards unmarked in front of goal. Aidan Ryan saved well and somehow the defence got back to scramble the ball away.

Larkin's facility with frees kept Kilkenny going, but Galway were making greater inroads from play - Wade, Callanan and Burke making telling runs throughout.

Kilkenny's chief regrets came in the second half when, with Michael Rice to the fore, they starved Galway's attack of possession during virtually the entire third quarter.

"I though we hurled really well in the second half," said Kilkenny manager Adrian Finan, "but when we were on top we didn't put them away, to be honest.

"For all the possession we had we never got more than three points up and, ultimately, that's what cost us and maybe they got some soft frees near the end and that was the killer."

Kilkenny's seven wides were in stark contrast to Galway's unerring accuracy at the other end. The most telling aspect of the match was that with minimal possession the winners managed to score as much as Kilkenny in the second half.

"There must have been nearly 20 minutes when three or four balls didn't go into the Galway forwards," said Finan. "While that phase was going on, unfortunately we didn't put them away.

"You get that sense when you're really hurling well and things are going for you and you have possession and you have possession and there's still three or four points in it. They got one or two points there, soft frees, and that gave them the boost. I don't think they'd have won without those frees."

The comeback was launched by David Collins, who switched from centrefield to wing back for the match, hitting a long-range free to cut the margin to two in the 56th minute. Replacement Cathal Dervan reduced it to one, leaving Wade to finish the job.

"Kilkenny were going for a three-in-a-row and we put a stop to it," said Mullins. "It's '96 since we won it and this is worth an awful lot to Galway hurling now that we've won the minor and under-21 - a lot more guys will come through."

GALWAY: A Ryan; P Flynn, A Gaynor, K Briscoe; G Mahon, B Cullinane, D Collins (0-1, free); B Lucas (0-1), A Garvey; J Gantley, A Callanan (1-1), E Ryan; N Healy (0-1), K Burke (capt, 0-2), K Wade (0-8, five frees, one 65). Replacements: F Coone for Ryan (26 mins), C Dervan (0-1) for Gantley (43 mins), D Kelly for Cullinane (49 mins).

KILKENNY: D Fogarty; S Maher, J Tennyson, D Cody; J Dalton, PJ Delaney, C Hoyne; M Fennelly (0-1), M Rice; E Larkin (1-9, eight points frees), A Murphy, W O'Dwyer (0-1); E Reid (capt, 0-1), J Fitzpatrick (0-2), R Power. B: D McCormack for Murphy (41 mins).

Referee: J Sexton (Limerick).