Minor A Hurling Final

A Winter bonus is in store for all hurling followers when Ballyboden Minor A hurlers line up against Na Fianna next Sunday, 27th January.  in the Division 1 Championship County Final in Chanel. Ray McKenna’s men have come through a competitive group and beat St Brigids, St Judes and Whitehall Colmcille, while losing narrowly to Cuala in the round robin stage of the competition. Their epic win over Kilmacud Crokes in the semi-final last December set up this final against the saffron and blue from Mobhi Road. Na Fianna had an equally impressive path to the final, dispatching St Vincents and Lucan Sarsfields in the group stage prior to overcoming a strong Cuala side in the semi-final. The nature of both of these semi-final wins points to the character of the finalists. In both cases, they fell behind in the closing stages but found the spark to forge ahead and so, land a coveted final spot.

Matches between the teams have been close over the years with League and Championship clashes rarely being settled prior to the last ten minutes. Top quality tussles occurred in the Féile semi-final and Under 15 quarter-final with the minimum between the sides in both and the Féile match even going to extra-time.

Ballyboden have prepared well but are in no doubt about the scale of the challenge facing them. Na Fianna are a team with established stars and five of this year’s successful Dublin Minor squad among their ranks. All players know each other well at this stage having battled for club and school and colleges over the years. It promises to be a fascinating final.