THE TOM MARKHAM Cup has wintered in Kerry for the last two years and unless Galway can produce something special on Sunday, it will be staying in the Kingdom.
Kerry have demolished all before them en-route to their third success minor final. They beat Derry in the quarter-final by 11 points and Kildare in the last four by 22.
Galway’s six point Connacht final win over Mayo proved their pedigree and they backed that up by disposing of Laois and Donegal to reach the final.
Here we take a look at six youngsters to keep an eye out for in the curtain-raiser on Sunday.
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1. David Clifford, corner-forward (Kerry)
Not many youngsters who rise up the ranks in Kerry are compared to Maurice Fitzgerald. That Clifford is being mentioned in the same breath as the Kingdom great gives a sense of his frightening potential
He posted 2-5 for St. Brendan’s in the Hogan Cup final at Croker back in April. More recently, Clifford kicked eight fine points during Kerry’s routine semi-final win over Kildare.
A star in the making.
2. Robert Finnerty, corner-forward (Galway)
Galway’s talisman. It won’t be long before Finnerty is linking up with Shane Walsh and Damien Comer in the Galway senior attack.
The son of Mayo great Anthony Finnerty, Robert is a wonderful attacking talent who plays with a sense of freedom and comfort on the big stage.
Of the 1-5 he put up in the semi-final, 1-1 arrived from play while he laid Galway’s second goal on a plate for Desmond Conneely.
3. Sean O’Shea, centre-forward (Kerry)
Kerry’s captain and playmaker in the middle third. O’Shea is an accurate free-taker from long distance and he pulls the strings in the Kingdom attack from No. 11.
The Kenmare attacker is a veteran of last year’s All-Ireland success and has yet to lose a championship game with the Kerry minors.
4. Desmond Conneely, corner-forward (Galway)
Finnerty’s partner in crime. Conneely was awarded man-of-the-match for his semi-final showing, where he chipped in with 1-2.
His habit of performing in big games was highlighted with his tally of 1-4 in the Connacht final win over Mayo.
5. David Shaw, full-forward (Kerry)
Shaw has also been electric on Kerry’s full-forward line in the latter part of the summer. Like any great Kerry forward, he’s started to thrive in the open expanses of Croke Park.
Shaw only made substitute appearances during the Munster championship, before he scored 0-5 from play in his first start of the summer against Derry in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
The Dr Crokes youngster back that performance up with a tally of 1-3 the last day out against Kildare.
6. Cormac Haslam, goalkeeper (Galway)
Haslam played a pivotal role in Galway’s semi-final win over Donegal.
The goalkeeper made a few fine saves to keep Donegal’s attack at bay, including a stunning double-save from Gary Molloy in second-half stoppage-time.
Facing a Kerry attack of enormous pedigree on Sunday, Haslam will need to be at his best once again.
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