Two injury-time points from Man of the Match Kerril Wade gave Galway a stunning 1-15 to 1-14 victory over unlucky Kilkenny in a closely contested All-Ireland U21 hurling final at the resplendent Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. The winners looked to be dead and buried when trailing by 1-14 to 1-11 with only five minutes left but they took the spoils with a run of four late unanswered points. Scores from David Collins and substitute Cathal Dervan offered the Tribesmen a glimmer of hope before Wade decided the issue with a brace, one from a free and one from play. There was nothing in it in the first half, and the sides went in at the interval with Galway - seeking their first silverware at this level since 1996 - a single point to the good, 1-7 to 1-6. Holders Kilkenny made a dream start: with only two minutes on the clock, Richie Power's clever handpass set up Eoin Larkin and the prolific senior intercounty star made no mistake, firing the sliothar to the net from close range. Galway pulled back a point through Kenneth Burke before James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick popped over Kilkenny's first point. The Tribesmen registered another couple of points courtesy of Burke and Kerril Wade (free), and the westerners then took the lead for the first time thanks to an excellent goal from centre forward Aonghus Callinan, which made it 1-3 to 1-1. Wade was the architect of the Galway goal, carving the Kilkenny defence open with an incisive run before offloading to Callinan, who made no mistake from just a yard out. James Stephens clubman Larkin was on hand to reduce the gap from a close-range free in the 13th minute and he then traded frees with opposing No.15 Wade. Midfielder Brendan Lucas stretched Galway's lead to two points and Niall Healy hit the target with a sublime effort from outside the '45 to make it 1-6 to 1-3 with 18 minutes played. Larkin won and converted a free in the 21st minute and Callinan picked up a yellow card for a wild pull on Power. When Larkin flicked over the resultant free, bringing his personal tally to 1-4, the Cats were back within a single point, 1-6 to 1-5. The elusive Wade superbly slipped a couple of Kilkenny defenders to knock over his third point - an inspirational score - and the Galway bench also moved to make a change in attack, introducing Finnian Cone for Eanna Ryan. After Burke's decent-looking effort for Galway was adjudged to have gone inches wide, irrepressible sharpshooter Larkin struck an excellent score from the left wing on the stroke of the half hour. The short whistle sounded with the challengers one point to the good, 1-7 to 1-6. Wade re-opened the scoring from a '65' (following a good save from Kilkenny 'keeper Damien Fogarty) two minutes after the re-start but Larkin replied instantly from another placed ball. The same player levelled the scores with a free from the other wing but Callinan re-established Galway's lead with a wonderful point from out the field. Fitzpatrick's attempted equaliser was off target. However, Kilkenny were soon on terms when Michael Fennelly capped a great solo run with a magnificent 38th-minute point and Larkin's long-range free had the Black & Amber back in front, 1-10 to 1-9, with 20 minutes remaining. With midfielders Fennelly and Michael Rice lording it, the Leinster champions were now well on top and the dangerous Galway inside forward line was being starved of possession. Larkin fired over another free from close to goal, bringing his haul to 1-9 and Galway brought Cathal Dervan on for Joe Gantley as they struggled to regain a foothold in the match. Kilkenny's direct brand of hurling resulted in a lovely point from captain Eoin Reid who was picked out well by Rice and Wade ended Kilkenny's four-point scoring streak with a much-needed score from a free. That score arrived at the midway point in the second half. Willie O'Dwyer - operating in the half forward line - knocked over a truly terrific point, which was cancelled out by another Wade free. Galway made their third change (Damien Kelly for Barry Callinane) and they were two points adrift with ten minutes left. The game lost its shape, with a few altercations erupting but no more scores until Cha Fitzpatrick stretched Kilkenny's lead with only five minutes on the clock. At this stage, Kilkenny would have been full value for the win. They had dominated the first 25 minutes of the second half but hadn't quite managed to put their opponents away. Amazingly, Galway took full advantage with four late, late unanswered points to steal the result. Midfielder and senior star David Collins gave the Maroons hope with an impressive free from distance seconds after Fitzpatrick's conversion. Three minutes from time, a huge roar went up when sub Dervan split the posts after some gritty play saw the westerners work the ball upfield from deep inside their own half. Galway were awarded a soft free on the 21-metre line directly in front of the posts and Wade was content to take his point, drawing the teams level 20 seconds into the two minutes of injury time. What a finale! Unbelievably, with a replay looking ominous, Wade was on hand to knock the winner over the bar a minute into added time after inspirational play from Healy and Burke. The final whistle sounded with Galway one point to the good. Tweet

Most Read Stories