ALL-IRELAND MHC SEMI-FINAL:THEY CONTINUE to churn out excellent underage teams in Galway, even if they continually fail to transfer this success up to the senior ranks, not that this is any fault of the minor mentor Mattie Murphy.

The long-serving under-18 manager, who did have a brief stint at senior, brings his current crop back to Croke Park tomorrow for the second time this season having been already granted access to the stadium for their quarter-final defeat of Waterford.

It was a match they largely controlled, against a respectable Waterford side that rallied in the second half only to eventually go down 1-15 to 2-8.

The competition goes up a notch here as they face Leinster champions Kilkenny in a repeat of last season’s All-Ireland final – which they won.

To have any chance of progressing, Murphy’s charges will require a similar spread of scores to the last day, when eight different players registered, while at least two from Shane Maloney, Neil Kearny, Albert Mullins, Trevor Moran and Pádraig Brehony will need to catch fire.

They have been struggling with injuries to defenders Darragh Burke and Conor McDonagh, but the former should recover from a groin problem.

Kilkenny’s attack will be led by John Power, younger brother of Richie. Their captain Cillian Buckley will feature in the half forward line while the midfield of Kevin Kelly and Ollie Walsh are two more of nine returning players who seek revenge.

The manner in which Kilkenny twice hammered Dublin, between a dismantling of Offaly, suggests they will have enough to handle Galway.

KILKENNY: D Walsh; J Corcoran, W Phelan, B Kennedy; P O’Carroll, L Harney, O McGrath; K Kelly, O Walsh; J Power, P Walsh, C Buckley; M Brennan, G Aylward, T O’Hanrahan.

GALWAY: TBA. Referee: D Copps (Cork).