Rampant Kilkenny qualified for the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship final with a resounding win over Galway at Croke Park.
This was a quite a breathtaking display by the young Cats, who sent out an ominous message nationwide that the conveyor belt is rolling smoothly, and the talent continues to emerge.
This result not only exacted revenge for defeat to the Connacht side in last year’s final, but underlined the depth of quality available in the land of the Cats.
A goal-fest, three in the first half and two more in the second, merely embroidered a superbly organised team display which was laced with pace, skill and cohesion.
The sides were level on four occasions before Kilkenny decided to go in search of goals, creating five chances, and netting three of them.
Conor Cooney, Shane Moloney, Padraig Brehony and Albert Mullins traded points with Kilkenny’s Padraig Walsh, Tomas O’Hanrahan (2) and Kevin Kelly, before Galway goalkeeper denied Michael Brennan with a fine save.
Ger Aylward sent another effort just wide, before the Leinster champions grabbed their first goal in the ninth minute, an unstoppable shot from skipper Cillian Buckley.
Two minutes later, Buckley turned provider for Brennan to fire home a second.
The Connacht lads worked hard to narrow the gap back to a point with some well taken scores from free-taker Moloney, captain Daithi Burke and Jason Flynn.
But they were knocked back again by a third Kilkenny goal, a fine solo strike from John Power on 22 minutes.
A rash of points, two of them from Walsh, followed as the Cats eased eight points clear at the break, going in with a 3-9 to 0-10 lead.
The loss of top-scorer Moloney through injury left Galway with a mountain to climb, and they fell further behind just two minutes after the restart when Ger Aylward punished a goalkeeping mistake with an opportunistic fourth goal.
Soon the margin had crept to 13 as Walsh swept over his fourth point of the afternoon.
But for the superb defending of Galway full back Darragh Burke, the damage could have been greater.
The Tribesmen had gone 21 minutes without scoring, and fallen 17 points behind, when substitute Cathal O’Brien landed a long range point.
Their brief revival continued with points from Conor Cooney, Jason Flynn and Kealan Cullinane, but once again, all their hard work was undone when midfielder Kevin Kelly blasted home goal number five.
Full forward Aylward brought his tally to 1-5 as the rout was completed in breathtaking style.
Kilkenny: D Walsh, J Corcoran, W Phelan, B Kennedy, P O’Carroll, L Harney, O McGrath (0-2), K Kelly (1-2), O Walsh; J Power (1-2 (0-2f), P Walsh (0-4), C Buckley (1-1), M Brennan (1-0), G Aylward (1-5), T O’Hanrahan (0-3).
Subs: P Begley for Brennan, R Reid for O’Hanrahan, C O’Neill for Kennedy, C O’Shea for O’Carroll
Galway: S Kelly, C Diviney, Darragh Burke, M Keating, P Hoban, Daithi Burke (0-1), M Horan, P Brehony (0-1), C Cooney (0-3, 2f), A Mullins (0-1), J Glynn, J Flynn (0-2), N Keary, T Moran, S Moloney (0-5, 4f).
Subs: B Lane for Glynn, G O’Donoghue for Moloney, S Morrissey for Hoban, K Cullinane (0-1) for Moran, C O’Brien (0-1) for Keary
Referee: D Copps (Cork).
