A stunning first-half display saw a rampant Galway completely overwhelm their Dublin counterparts to set up a convincing 0-15 to 0-07 victory in the All-Ireland Under-21 football final at Portlaoise's O'Moore Stadium. With captain Joe Bergin driving the team forward from midfield and Michael Meehan clinical in attack, The Tribesmen held an amazing 0-08 to 0-01 interval lead following a one-sided first-half. Despite a significant improvement from The Dubs after the break, the John O'Mahony led Connacht champions always had enough class in reserve to seal a deserved victory following a disappointingly one-sided contest.
Bergin, who has been a key player in O'Mahony's senior team, led by example with an authoritative, all-action display which deservedly earned him the Man of the Match award. However, he was ably assisted by Kieran Fitzgerald and Matthew Clancy, while Meehan's impressive tally of five points was equally crucial in securing Galway's first U-21 title for almost 30 years.
Galway were five points up with just 14 minutes gone as Dublin, despite a number of Leinster senior medal winners in their ranks, failed to find any rhythm or resistance in the opening exchanges. Indeed, the highly fancied Dubs only registered their first score of a largely fruitless afternoon with 25 minutes gone through Alan Brogan.
That failed to provide the spark for deflated Dublin, and although the probing of Brogan and Thomas Quinn gave them a glimmer of optimism during a more balanced second period, there was never any doubting the destination of this year's title as Galway ran out convincing winners in the end.
Filed by Shane Murray
