Stirring second half sees galway intermediates bridge 13year gap

FOR the third time in the county’s history — adding to victories in 1999 and 2002 over Kilkenny and Tipperary, respectively — Galway’s Intermediate hurlers won the All-Ireland hurling title, comfortably defeating Munster champions Cork at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening.
The sides were level at 0-9 apiece at half-time, but a young Galway side that started with seven players eligible for U-21 grade were dominant in the second period and outscored their opponents by 0-14 to 0-5 to claim the title.
Since their Leinster final win over Wexford, forward Conor Whelan was introduced to the Galway senior side to good effect against Cork. It made the the Kinvara youngster ineligible for Saturday’s final and his replacement, Cappataggle’s Daniel Nevin, was influential at wing forward, scoring five points from play and a constant threat throughout.