Galway 3-18

Dublin 2-18

A Galway minor hurling team not much was thought of ahead of the championship – and even less so after a first-round trimming by Kilkenny – now stands only 60 minutes away from reaching the All-Ireland final.

Though a second heavy loss to the Cats followed in the Leinster semi-final, Kenneth Burke’s charges have admirably regrouped for the All-Ireland series with a clear-cut preliminary quarter-final win over Waterford backed up by this repeat success over Dublin in Thurles on Monday.

Having overcome the same opposition by five points in the provincial group stages, Galway were fancied to gain some compensation for the recent championship exits of both the county’s seniors and U-20s to Dublin.

And when Galway stretched 2-10 to 0-6 clear after 23 minutes, it appeared that they were in for a stress-free afternoon at Semple Stadium, but Dublin possessed enough quality in their ranks to subsequently make life difficult for the boys in maroon by reducing the deficit to a solitary point in the third quarter.

Perhaps, Galway would have gone on to book a semi-final clash with Munster champions Tipperary on Saturday week a lot more comfortably only for the concession of a soft goal in the 28th minute after ‘keeper Seán Kelly misjudged a long delivery from Dublin centre-back Cathal O’Flynn.

That goal out of nothing threw Dublin as lifeline and with the impressive O’Flynn well supported by the likes of Shane Dunphy, Tommy Cullen, Fiachra Codd, Cathal Barrett and substitute Conaill O’Sullivan, they kept Galway on their toes right to the final whistle.

Overall, the winners possessed the better-balanced outfit with strong showings from powerful full-back Dara Burke, classy number six Jonah Donnellan, tireless midfielder Seán Moran, and lively forwards Ciarán Leen, Cillian Roche, Harry Holmes and accurate free-taker Brian Callanan.

Pictured: Galway minor hurlers Dara Burke, Brian Callanan and Jamie Ryan following their All-Ireland quarter-final win over Dublin at Semple Stadium on Monday.