Donal O’Fatharta and Galway minors side are deservedly through to the All-Ireland final after defeating Kerry by the minimum, 0-14 to 0-13 at Croke Park on Sunday.
Kerry, attempting to win an incredible sixth minor title in a row, were stopped at the penultimate hurdle by a hungry and determined Galway side.
Tomo Culhane scored six points to help scrape his side through, but it was the corner back and captain Jonathon McGrath who stood up and showed the bravery that has been instilled into this side by their manager and mentors.
With a number of this group having lost to Kerry in the final last year, they went out onto the Croke Park pitch on Sunday to make sure it would not happen again.
Right from the throw in, Galway played their game and were not overawed by the occasion.
Dylan Brady, who has worked ferociously hard all year, started the scoring with a fine long-range point. Kerry certainly had more chances, but Galway put them under pressure when they were taking almost every shot.
As a result Galway led 07 to 0-5 at the break, although they could have been further ahead if it was not for a great save by Kerry goalkeeper Devon Burns.
Kerry started the second half with blistering pace, scoring four points within three minutes of the throw-in, but unlike Mayo the night before, Galway were not going to be over-run.
They composed themselves and resumed scoring with two from Culhane, and when Brady and Cox followed suit, it left the sides 0-11 apiece with 15 minutes remaining.
In a nail-biting last quarter, Culhane nailed another free, but Kerry soon levelled matters once more. Then Culhane struck a beauty from play to put Galway ahead again as Kerry spurned numerous chances in front of goal, kicking two wide, one short, and one off the post.
With Galway riding their luck and still needing to get over the line, substitute Darragh Kennedy showed great strength to score before Dylan Geaney struck his second point and the final one of the match.
Galway clung onto possession to see out the final minute with the score 0-14 to 0-13 to celebrate at the whistle. They now face Cork in the All Ireland final in three weeks' time after the Munster side defeated Connacht champions Mayo on Saturday.
Galway: Donie Halleran; Jonathan McGrath (c ), Ruairí King, Liam Tevnan; Cian Heron, Ethan Fiorentini, Kyle O’Neill; James McLaughlin, Daniel O’Flaherty; Evan Nolan, Warren Seoige, Dylan Brady; Nathan Grainger, Tomo Culhane, Daniel Cox. Substitutes: Conall Gallagher for Daniel O’Flaherty, Niall Cunningham for Nathan Grainger, James Webb for Kyle O’Neill, Darragh Kennedy for Dylan Brady.
