Galway Defeat Dublin In U-21Final

A Roundup Of The GAA Championship Action From Jackie Cahill

Bord Gais Energy All-Ireland U21 Hurling Final
Dublin 1-10 Galway 3-14

Galway boss Anthony Cunningham admitted that the Tribesmen's comfortable ten-point victory in last Saturday's Bord Gais Energy All-Ireland U21 hurling final was "very satisfying."

The Westerners were routed by 25 points against Tipperary in the 2010 decider at Semple Stadium but twelve months on, and at the same venue, the lessons learned then were put to good effect as Galway claimed a tenth crown.

And in the final analysis, 2011 will be remembered as a successful year for Galway hurling, despite another spectacular implosion by the senior team.

All-Ireland minor and U21 titles were collected in the space of six days, both at Dublin's expense, and Cunningham's managerial CV has another notable entry after the former playing star hinted last week that he'd fancy a crack at the senior post.

Cunningham cleverly dodged any fresh talk about the position still held by John McIntyre but after losing out to the Tipperary native when the position was last vacant, Cunningham's hand has been strengthened considerably.

Ultimately, it was a devastating run of 2-2 without reply before half-time that settled last Saturday's repeat of the 2007 decider between Galway and Dublin, played out in front of 5,352 spectators.

With 24 minutes on the watch, Dublin were level at 1-4 apiece but John McEvoy's charges found themselves 1-4 to 3-6 down at the break.

Galway's goals before half-time were scored at the Town End by corner forwards Davy Glennon and James Regan while Dublin were also on the receiving end of a harsh penalty call earlier in the game, with goalkeeper Ger McManus penalised for a foul on Galway skipper Barry Daly.

Tadhg Haran buried the penalty to cancel out Tomás Connolly's third minute goal for Dublin, batted home from close range after Kevin O'Loughlin's shot had bounced off the crossbar and was only half-cleared by Galway shotstopper Jamie Ryan.

The closest Dublin got to Galway was eight points during the second half as Glennon kept the scoreboard ticking over, along with David and Niall Burke.

A delighted Cunningham said: "Winner takes all - this time last year it was a lonely place but these guys worked so hard for us this year. They were a young team last year as well. Tom Helebert and Mattie Kenny have put in tremendous coaching work with this team - we did a lot of development work with this team on the pitch from May 4 right through until this week. That's what counts at U21 level."

Bord Gáis Energy All-Ireland U21 B hurling final
Kerry 0-16 Westmeath 1-9

Manager John Meyler hailed Kerry's victory in last Saturday's Bord Gais Energy All-Ireland U21 B hurling championship as the Kingdom's sweetest yet at this grade.

But Meyler insisted that the team is not yet ready for the step up to the A ranks - despite claiming a third successive All-Ireland B crown.

Meyler admitted that a return to the Munster senior championship is the ultimate goal but insisted that just a handful of players would be capable of competing at this stage of the county's hurling development.

He said: "I've got to get one or two in with Tom Murnane, Andrew Keane and James Godley, who are up to the pace of it. That's what I've got to do.

"It's baby steps rather than being mad. I wanted to go into the Munster championship, I know that but it's step by step. Win the Christy Ring again - if we can't do that, we have no business going anywhere."

The 2011 season will be remembered as a memorable one for Kerry hurling - with the Christy Ring and All-Ireland U21 B hurling trophies safely tucked away in the silverware cabinet.

And scoring ace Shane Nolan, who finished with 0-11 last Saturday, is determined to build on this progress.

Nolan, 20, has won All-Ireland U21 B medals in 2009, 2010 and 2011 - and is underage again next year.

And Nolan, who is also a member of the county's senior hurling team under Meyler, insisted: "I want to play in Munster. I think we have the hurlers to play in Munster.

"Myself, Darragh O'Connell, Adrian Ryall and David Fitzell last year were on the (u21 Ireland) shinty team. We felt we held our own with the boys but just because we're Kerry hurlers, the boys kind of looked down on us. We're in Division 2A now so hopefully we can win that next year and get up to playing the likes of Clare and Limerick. We played Clare and Limerick this year, missing four of our main players. We scored a lot but conceded easy. But I think if we had our full team against them, we might have lost by seven points, which isn't bad."

Kerry led by 0-5 to 0-1 in the early exchanges at Semple Stadium last Saturday, before Westmeath responded to draw level at 0-7 apiece.

Two late first half points from Nolan established a 0-9 to 0-7 interval lead for the Kingdom, who were denied two first half goals by Westmeath goalkeeper Shane McGovern.

In the second half, it was opposite number Martin Stackpoole's time to shine as he kept out Westmeath's Barry O'Meara and Aonghus Clarke, who finally found a way past the Kerry netminder with a consolation goal in the final minute.

In other news, Wexford beat Galway by 2-7 to 1-8 at Croke Park last Sunday to regain the All-Ireland senior camogie title. The Model County's intermediates were also crowned All-Ireland champions following a 2-12 to 0-15 victory over Antrim. And Waterford won the junior decider on a 2-11 to 1-13 scoreline against Down.