Galway 1-18:IMPRESSIVE CORNER forward Richard Cummins scored 1-5 as Mattie Murphy's Galway minors advanced to an ESB All-Ireland final meeting with Kilkenny on September 7th.
Cummins netted the only goal of an entertaining semi-final against Munster champions Cork midway through the second half to effectively settle a contest which had been level on 10 occasions.
The sides were deadlocked at half-time, 0-8 each, after a tit-for-tat opening half when they were level eight times.
However, Galway always looked to have the snappier forwards and all but one point of their winning tally was provided from play.
Five of Galway's six starting forwards and both midfielders registered scores while in marked contrast, last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists Cork scored eight of their points from placed balls.
Cork goalkeeper Darren McCarthy did well to keep out a rising drive from Galway captain David Burke 12 minutes before half-time but he could do nothing about Cummins's decisive strike.
The Gort marksman brilliantly robbed Cork defender William Egan, who was later sent off, before finishing superbly from 13 metres after advancing unhindered on goal.
That strike capped a match-winning purple patch from Galway, who shot an unanswered 1-3 in a devastating four-minute spell which began 12 minutes after half-time.
The teams had been level at 0-10 each before Cummins piled in with a 1-1 haul, adding to a David Burke 65 and a Niall Burke point from play, as Galway found their rhythm.
A tough quarter-final test against Wexford certainly stood to the winners as Cork ran out of steam towards the end, having been without a game for five weeks since their provincial final victory over Tipperary.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Cork trailed by two points when Egan was dismissed for a second bookable offence and late scores from David Burke and Niall Quinn sealed Galway's passage to a first minor final since 2006, when they were denied the three-in-a-row.
It will take a very good team to stop Kilkenny but Galway possess good scoring forwards with plenty of movement who can cause problems for any defence.
It took them just 13 minutes to go from being level to seven points ahead by the 52nd minute before a run of three unanswered Cork scores gave them some hope of a recovery.
By the end of normal time, the gap was down to two but Egan's sending-off stalled the Cork momentum and their hopes of atoning for last year's All-Ireland final defeat against Tipperary were dashed.
Wing back Aidan Walsh played a fine game for Cork but their problems lay in attack, where just two points were scored and four of the starting attacking sextet were held scoreless from play.
GALWAY: F Flannery; D Connolly, R Burke, G O'Halloran; N Donoghue, D Cooney, R Roy; D Burke (0-3, one 65), D Fox (0-1); A Dolan, N Quinn (0-3), N Burke (0-3); R Cummins (1-5), B Burke (0-2), D Glennon (0-1). Subs: J Regan for Foy (43 mins), B Flaherty for Fox (47 mins), L Madden for Glennon (60 mins), M Dolphin for B Burke (60 mins).
CORK: D McCarthy; C Smith, D Rodgers, E Moynihan; A Walsh (0-2), P O'Shea (0-5, four frees, 1 65), W Egan; S O'Farrell (0-2), D Roche (0-1); M Collins, C Sheehan, S OBrien (0-4, three frees); J O'Dwyer (0-1), P Honohan (0-1), P Haughney. Subs: J Coughlan (0-1) for Haughney (35 mins), L O'Farrell for Honohan (48 mins), B Collins for Smith (52 mins), M Carroll for O'Dwyer (55 mins).
Referee: A Stapleton (Laois).
