Preview: Fulfil All-Ireland U20 Hurling Final - Clare v Galway
Fred Hegarty of Clare celebrates a late score during the Fulfil Munster GAA U20 Hurling Championship final match between Tipperary and Clare at TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
Sunday, May 31
Fulfil All-Ireland U20 Hurling Championship final
Clare v Galway, FBD Semple Stadium, 2pm - TG4
Based on what we’ve seen from these two teams so far this year, this Fulfil All-Ireland U20 Hurling Final has all the ingredients to be a cracker.
Both sides play a great brand of hurling that combines potent attacking with gritty defending, and they’ve also displayed a lot of character whenever they’ve found themselves in tight situations in matches.
It’s a repeat of the All-Ireland Minor Final of three years ago when Clare produced a tremendous performance to take down a Galway team that came into the match as hot favourites.
A win in this grade would mean a lot to both counties as Galway haven’t been All-Ireland U20 champions since 2011 while Clare haven’t been mapped since their golden generation won three-in-a-row from 2012 to 2014.
Galway’s hopes of victory have been struck a body blow with the news that star forward Aaron Niland seems very unlikely to play due to an ankle sustained playing for the county seniors against Kilkenny.
His loss will be mitigated somewhat by the inclusion in the team of another county senior, Jason Rabbitte, who wasn’t available for their Leinster Final win over Kilkenny.
Galway have other quality forwards in the shape of Jack Shaughnessy, Vince Morgan, Brian Callanan, Ciarán Leen, and Darragh Counihan, but Niland is extra-special and in a game of fine margins his absence could be decisive.
The battle between the exciting Galway forwards and the teak-tough Clare defence where Eoghan Gunning, Robert Loftus, and James Hegarty are stand-out talents will be worth the price of admission alone.
Clare arguably don’t have as much pure firepower as Galway, but they’re very clinical in attack and play to the strengths of players like towering full-forward Thomas O’Connor and accurate half-forwards Michael Collins and Fred Hegarty.
A star-studded Tipperary team were most people’s favourites to retain the All-Ireland U20 championship this year, but Clare beat them twice in Munster, including in the final, and showed great resolve to get the job done both times.
The quality they showed in those games suggests they can come out on the right side of what is likely to be an All-Ireland Final of very fine margins.
