Kilkenny 1-19 Galway 1-15
Galway will have to wait at least another year to see the fruits of their 2017 and 2018 minor All-Ireland wins bear fruit at U20 level after Kilkenny overpowered and outplayed them at Bord na Móna O'Connor Park in Tullamore.
In a stop-start contest that didn’t really get any momentum or flow going until there were just five minutes remaining, DJ Carey’s side was stronger in the battle for possession and that bit more cohesive in the way they worked as a unit to create good scoring chances.
It was a measure of the type of game that unfolded that with 50 minutes on the clock, Galway had scored just three points from play – all three wonderful individual efforts worthy of a highlight reel, but no simple points at the end of good team moves that quietly kept the scoreboard moving.
In that regard, Kilkenny were the only show in town, and that ability to carve out simple scores was their trump card in this win, which sets up a final date with Wexford, who beat Offaly yesterday.
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The decisive spell in the game was a ten-minute spell in the first half, while Galway had the assistance of the very light breeze that blew down towards the Park Avenue end of the Tullamore venue.
The Tribesmen had moved into an 0-04 to 0-02 lead, with Diarmuid Kilcommins and Daniel Loftus shooting exceptional scores from play off the right wing.
However, Kilkenny were dominant from that point up until the 20th minute, picking off seven points without reply.
Niall Brassil started the charge with a cheeky lift of the sliothar over a defender to open up space for a shot from 40 metres out and Kilkenny built on that with a series of well-worked points.
Super skill by @KilkennyCLG 's Niall Brassil flicking the ball over the defenders head and converting a point soon after pic.twitter.com/ffztRvbLnM
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 4, 2019
Two Kennedy frees and a wonderful score from John Fleming out of the shadow of the stand made it 0-11 to 0-07 at half time, and Galway would have felt that if they could get any second half momentum, they might yet mount a charge.
Due to a large number of stoppages, momentum for either side was hard got in the second half, and when some hurling got going, it was Kilkenny who were the more clinical side.
Darach Fahy had made one superb save to deny Aaron Brennan eight minutes into the second half but he could do nothing to prevent Eoin Cody raising a green flag after the Ballyhale man soared high to claim a puckout and then burst past his marker with an explosion of power and pace, and that score more than any other was critical.
Kilkenny kept Galway at arm's length, aided by two excellent saves from Dean Mason, until Seán Neary goaled from 20 metres to finally give the Galway contingent in the crowd something to shout about with four minutes of normal time remaining.
Within 30 seconds however, Kilkenny had their reply – Cody found Seán Ryan with a good cross-field pass and Ryan slotted his third point from a tight angle to push the gap back out to six.
Galway did muster up three further points but Kilkenny always had control, tacking on late scores of their own from Brassil and Cody to guarantee their win.
Kilkenny: Dean Mason; Mikey Butler, James Brennan, Conor Flynn; Conor Heary (0-02), Michael Carey, David Blanchfield; Evan Shefflin, Eoin O'Shea; Adrian Mullen (0-01), Niall Brassil (0-07, 0-05 frees, 0-01 ’65), Aaron Brennan (0-01); Seán Ryan (0-03), Eoin Cody (1-03), Stephen Donnelly (0-02).
Subs used: Conor Murphy for J Brennan (33), Ciarán Brennan for Cody (50, temp), Ciarán Brennan for A Brennan (52), James Bergin for Shefflin (59), John Dowd for Mullen (60+3)
Galway: Darach Fahy; Caimín Killeen, Mark Gill, Darren Morrissey; Daniel Loftus (0-01), TJ Brennan, Ronan Glennon; Seán Neary (1-00), Conor Caulfield; Diarmuid Kilcommins (0-01), Conor Walsh (0-02), Shane Ryan; Sean Bleahene, John Fleming (0-01), Mark Kennedy (0-07, frees).
Subs used: Sam McArdle for Morrissey (HT), Donal Mannion (0-01) for Ryan (39), Cillian Lawless for Kilcommins (43), Dean Reilly (0-02) for Bleahene (49), Ben Moran for Caulfield (56)
