After triumphing in their matches at the FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles on Monday, both Clare and Galway have secured their positions in the All-Ireland minor hurling semi-finals. Galway secured a victory against Dublin in the quarter final match, with notable efforts from players such as Brian Callanan, Cillian Roche, and Harry Holmes, who managed to score 3-10, contributing significantly to Galway’s final score of 3-18 to 2-18.
Galway kicked off the match impressively thanks to three successive goals from Callanan, who also managed to secure their opening score within the initial six minutes. Although Dublin did manage to secure four of the subsequent five points, Galway responded with more goals and a powerful attack by Roche, gaining them a lead of ten points.
Despite Dublin managing a comeback with points from O’Flynn and Darragh Kilduff, their efforts shrank the gap to just a point, at 2-12 to 2-11. Shortly after, however, Harry Holmes, playing as a corner forward, managed to net a 40th-minute goal, giving Galway a lead they did not surrender.
Meanwhile, Clare, the reigning All-Ireland champions, managed to hold their own against Wexford in the last quarter of their quarter-final, claiming a victory with a score of 2-16 to 0-13. Clare kicked off the game on a high note, securing the early three scores and maintaining a marginal lead of 0-5 to 0-4 after 27 minutes. Then, post a goal by Paul Rodgers, assisted by Tadhg Lohan, Clare established a four-point lead.
Despite Wexford’s efforts to narrow the gap to a single point in the second half of the match, Clare retaliated with a wave of eight uninterrupted points, distancing themselves from their competitors. Even though Wexford put up a brave fight, Clare cemented their victory with a goal from Liam Murphy, who managed to score from a difficult angle during extra time, transforming a long clearance into a match-winning shot.