ALL-IRELAND MHC FINAL Kilkenny v Galway:PERHAPS THE most surprising aspect to this game is Kilkenny are chasing a first All-Ireland minor title since 2003, practically a famine period by their standards. That they find Galway as the last team standing in their way is perhaps fitting.
With the obvious exception of Tipperary, who won the last two minor titles, Kilkenny and Galway have been setting standard in the grade in recent years and the rivalry between them is intense.
Galway are once again managed by Mattie Murphy, who was in charge for previous wins in 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005, and few men could rival his know-how of what it takes to succeed at this level.
After a very shaky first outing against Wexford, Galway showed considerable improvement to topple Munster champions Cork in their All-Ireland semi-final, winning 1-18 to 0-17. Further improvement will be needed to see them past Kilkenny but they have the potential. Richard Cummins proved Galway's ace in the semi-final, his tally of 1-5 from play ultimately smothered Cork's challenge.
Galway also boast a strong midfield pairing in David Burke and Domhnaill Fox yet the Kilkenny half-back line of Conor Fogarty, who has experience of playing last year, Michael Moloney and Richard Doyle looks a formidable unit.
This was the case in Kilkenny's hard-earned semi-final over Tipperary, who had beaten them at the same stage the previous two years, and were fancied to press on for a third successive All-Ireland. The Kilkenny forward line benefited from an ample amount of ball, particularly Joe Brennan, who has now amassed a total of 1-28 from their five outings.
Brennan, who was also a member of last year's team, operates at wing forward where his speed on the ball can be decisive, while full forward Thomas Breen and centre forward Walter Walsh are equally adept in making key openings.
Against Tipperary, Brennan and Walsh were inspirational, scoring 0-8 (0-4 from play) and 2-1 respectively, as Kilkenny ran out impressive winners.
Managed by Richie Mulrooney, Kilkenny's fine win over Tipperary has inevitably handed them the favourites tag, and justifiably so as they've been highly consistent in every game. Galway's usual problem of an early season hiatus nearly came against them as they later struggled to get past Wexford, before late points from Domhnaill Fox and Niall Quinn gave them a 0-16 to 0-15 win. While they did improve against Cork, some question marks about their consistency remains.
In most key areas the teams look evenly balanced and in a close contest it will come to who wants it more: Kilkenny.
KILKENNY:E Murphy; D Healy, M Walsh, A Cuddihy; M Moloney, R Doyle, C Fogarty; C Kenny, J Gannon; J Brennan, W Walsh, R Hickey; P McCarthy, T Breen, M Gaffney.
GALWAY:F Flannery; D Connolly, D Cooney, G O'Halloran; R Burke, N Donoghue, R Foy; D Burke, D Fox; N Burke, N Quinn, A Dolan; R Cummins, D Glennon, B Burke.
