Cracking minor A hurling final expected

One of the most competitive Minor A Hurling Championships in many years will conclude, barring a draw, this Saturday when Clarecastle face Kilmaley in the final at O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge (throw-in time 3pm).
It promises to be a cracking contest and the fact the teams drew when they clashed in Round 3 (1-18 for Clarecastle to 2-15) suggests this will go down to the wire and may require a replay.
Clarecastle had to pull out all the stops to justify favouritism and account for Feakle-Killanena in the first of the semi-finals. Two points was the winning margin here (0-17 to 0-15) and this was also the margin next day when Kilmaley dethroned the titleholders Sixmilebridge in another exciting contest (1-15 to 1-13).
The fact that Clare teams have had so much success at minor and U-21 levels in recent years has added to the interest in this championship. Both of Saturday’s finalists have a number of players who were part of the Clare side that contested a third successive Munster final back in July on their way to an All-Ireland semi-final appearance. These players have been prominent in guiding the side to this week’s final.
Aidan McGuane and Conor Cleary were particularly outstanding for Kilmaley in their semi-final win, while Cian Moloney, another of the county squad, was their top scorer.
Bobby Duggan has been Clarecastle’s top scorer in this campaign and he has fellow county panellists Gearóid Ryan, Mark McGuane and Stephen Ward as clubmates.
Kilmaley will have to be very disciplined in Saturday’s final as the concession of frees could prove costly, given Duggan’s form. On the other hand, Clarecastle will be doing all in their power to by pass the Kilmaley half-backs, where McGuane and Cleary have been excellent. This was particularly true of the semi-final, when Sixmilebridge made the mistake of pumping high balls down the middle only for Cleary to return it to his forwards.
Both sides have players other than the inter-county contingent that have the ability to leave their mark in this contest. Michael O’Malley, Padráig McNamara, Barry Lynch and Darragh McMahon are expected to fill key roles for Kilmaley, with Lynch returning from injury, which caused him to miss the semi-final.
Joe Barry, Mikey Casey and Pat Tuohy from Clarecastle are sure to make things difficult for Kilmaley.
Clarecastle coach Anthony Daly is sure to have instructed his charges to keep the ball away from McGuane and Cleary.  He is part of a backroom team headed by Tom Howard and which includes Martin Sheedy, Pat Tuohy and Stephen O’Halloran.
Kilmaley aren’t short of experience in this sector either with Niall Romer joined by Gerry Kennedy, Martin Enright and Freddie Markham.
The winners of Saturday’s final will be presented with the Willie Chaplin Memorial Cup. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the death of the Sixmilebridge man, father of former Sixmilebridge players Danny, John, Christy and David, at a young age.
The cup, along with all Bord na Óg Iomaint trophies, has undergone a major facelift. A new base has been added with the names of all previous winners engraved on it. The cup has been replated and is now in pristine condition, waiting for its new home in either Clarecastle or Kilmaley.
It’s difficult to predict the outcome of this one but Clarecastle could emerge with a narrow win.