The Kilkenny minors got last Sunday off to the perfect start when they regained the ESB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship title after a 2-10 to 0-14 defeat of Clare in a cracking game at Croke Park.
The minor Cats staged a savage second half comeback, with Michael Brennan (back from injury ) scoring a vital goal and setting up a second in a match-winning spell in the restart.
While Cillian Buckley and Owen McGrath, from a free, were on target early on as Kilkenny got off to a positive start it was soon evident that Clare were up for the game, their workrate and defensive line pushed them on top.
Kilkenny were unable to break through the Clare defence, with corner back Morey and full back Flanagan repeatedly blocking their opponents.
Clare looked the stronger team in the opening half and once they got their momentum going, their confidence grew and it looked to be going their way. Midfielder Tony Buckley and centre forward Paudge Collins were very strong in the middle of the field, as a dominant Banner side picked off seven points on the trot.
Darragh Keane and David O’Halloran fired over excellent scores, with Niall Arthur, Collins and wing back Enda Boyce also on target.
Kilkenny did launch a series of attacks, but were unable to add to their early scores. When John Power’s penalty effort was cleared away by Flanagan this dented their confidence.
The Cats went 23 minutes without scoring, but in true Kilkenny style they staged a brilliant comeback late in the half with scores from Power and Owen McGrath.
While Clare led by 0-9 to 0-5 at half-time, Kilkenny were right back in it within five minutes of the restart. Ger Aylward rose high to catch the sliothar before sending the unstoppable Michael Brennan in for a cracking goal.
And Brennan showed his extra skills in the 43nd minute when he picked up a loose ball before dashing through to finish with his boot, bringing the sides level at 2-5 to 0-11.
From here on the Cats eased ahead with a point from Kevin Kelly followed by another from the commanding Ger Aylward.
Cillian Buckley and Kelly tacked on a further three points to keep Kilkenny clear. While David O’Halloran kept the Clare side in touch and Aaron Cunningham added to the tally it wasn’t enough. The decisive moment came in stoppage time when Ger Aylward broke up an attack and set up Brennan for the decisive score and to land them the Irish Press Cup.
Teams and scorers:
Kilkenny: D Walsh; J Corcoran, W Phelan, B Kennedy; P O’Carroll, L Harney, O McGrath (0-2, both frees ); K Kelly (0-2 ) , O Walsh; J Power (0-1, free ), P Walsh (0-1 ), C Buckley (capt, 0-1 ); M Brennan (2-2 ), G Aylward (0-1 ) , T O’Hanrahan. Subs : P Buggy for O’Hanrahan (37 mins ), P Holden for O Walsh (39 mins ), R Reid for Holden (56 mins ).
Clare : R Taaffe; 2 H Vaughan, P Flanagan (capt ), S Morey; E Boyce (0-1 ) , K Lynch, S O’Halloran; C Galvin, T Kelly (0-2 ) ; C Malone, P Collins (0-2 ) , J Shanahan; D O’Halloran (0-5, two frees ), N Arthur (0-2, both frees ), D Keane (0-1 ). Subs: A Cunningham (0-1 ) for Malone, A Mulready for Vaughan (47 mins ), D McInerney for Arthur (58 mins ).
Referee: Anthony Stapleton (Laois ).
