Preview- Minors chase place in All-Ireland decider

There will be familiar surroundings and a familiar opponent when Kilkenny face Clare in this Sunday’s All-Ireland minor semi-final in FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles.

The last four clash will be a repeat of the 2023 affair between the two counties when Clare beat the Cats before going on to win the Irish Press Cup a couple of weeks later.

The Banner had eight points to spare on that occasion, but Niall Bergin’s team did lose Ed McDermott to a red card inside the opening 10 minutes.

Ed’s brother Bill was the only starter from that side who is still around on this year’s crop but the team captain is joined by Mooncoin’s Robbie Doherty and Clara’s David Barcoe, who both came on as subs during last year’s encounter.

In contrast Clare come into the game with an almost completely new set of players but that didn’t deter the Munster side as they won all but one of their games in the provincial campaign.

That one loss was during a seven point defeat to Tipperary in the Munster final, but Clare have recovered well after they beat Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final a couple of weeks ago.

Both teams come into this contest having being well tested and in Kilkenny’s case, a couple of defeats have helped the team learn a few valuable lessons.

The Cats already have six games under their belt and despite losing to Wexford and Dublin in the round-robin stages that saw them finish bottom of the Leinster group, the side in Black and Amber were still the last one’s standing when winning a first provincial minor crown since 2021.

All eyes have been on the Kilkenny side since very early on as they opened up their campaign with a hugely impressive victory over Galway at Nowlan Park.

Jake Mullen (younger brother of senior star Adrian) scored 1-9 on that occasion while Bill McDermott and Patrick Lacey also found the net as the home side claimed a huge 19-point success.

The Cats struggled to replicate that type of form in the round robin stages at least as they lost out on successive weekends to both Dublin and Wexford.

The Dublin loss was particularly damaging as it arrived on home soil and they only managed to score 12 points in total.

Kilkenny’s championship season was far from over however and they got back on track a week later when claiming a decent win away against Kildare in the Leinster quarter-final where Jake Mullen again starred while Jason Cody, Robbie Doherty and Ollie O’Donovan also bagged goals in a 4-16 to 0-15 success.

The Leinster semi-final then saw Kilkenny lock horns with Galway once again and while it was expected to be a much closer encounter than the initial fixture, Kilkenny again turned on the style and claimed another huge victory in Tullamore.

Mullen and Ollie O’Donovan bagged two goals apiece in a double score win that saw them qualify for back-to-back Leinster deciders.

The final with Dublin was a tricky one as their defensive style made things difficult for the Cats, but the Kilkenny team showed their maturity as they produced a fine second half display to overcome the side from the capital on a 1-13 to 1-9 scoreline.

A classy individual goal from Ollie O’Donovan set Kilkenny on their way and the reward for winning a 60th provincial minor crown and a first since 2021 is a direct route to this Sunday’s clash with Clare.

Being one game away from an All-Ireland final is a big prize in itself but after a punishing schedule that saw Kilkenny take to the field on six successive weekends, a well earned break will have also been a huge benefit to the young Cats.

Apart from Dicksboro’s Patrick Lacey, who went off injured in the Wexford round-robin clash, Kilkenny have had a pretty good run of it health wise and they look in good nick for this weekend’s crunch encounter.

While Jake Mullen has been the undoubted ace in the pack, Kilkenny have flourished in all areas and will fancy their chances of beating the holders.

Throw-in from FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles is at 1pm on Sunday