All-Ireland MHC Final Replay/Galway 0-16 Kilkenny 1-12: Wow, if only all replays could recreate such brilliance. When Galway and Kilkenny drew so flamboyantly at Croke Park last Sunday the immediate fear was that the second act mightn't hold up. Instead it surpassed it, even better than the real thing. As the last word in the summer's hurling championship yesterday's minor replay was simply rousing.

It was at all times a game embodied by a will to win and to battle for survival and, most of all, by pure hurling skill. That Galway won by the narrowest of margins was undoubtedly dependent on their combination of all three. In the end it seemed they were the only team that could win.

With that they bring the All-Ireland minor title back west after a four-year absence - and for the sixth time in all. Not that they didn't need to win this one. But to say Galway's hurling future is secured for at least the foreseeable future is merely stating the obvious. They beat as good a minor Kilkenny team as you can get and did so with distinct verve and determination.

"Character," said Mattie Murphy when asked to assess what won it for Galway. The well-seasoned manager couldn't have found a better word. Kilkenny led for most of the first half and refused to lie down in the second but ultimately it was Galway's desire to be the best they could that won the day.

"We had plenty of opportunities to drop the head and we didn't," added Murphy. "And I tell you this much. Wait four or five years and we'll be heard of in the senior ranks too. They've also put a lot of pride back into Galway hurling, and for that we're eternally grateful."

Just like last Sunday, the game was played at machine-gun pace but without any sacrifice of precision or skill. Some of the scores were as good as you'll see at any level. To highlight just one case, the sidelines cuts of Galway's 15-year-old full forward Joe Canning were a wonder to behold. None seen in Croke Park this summer were any better.

"Nothing," said Murphy when asked what Galway did to make the difference from last Sunday. True their team-work and spirit were once again faultless, but a few tactical switches also became part of the mix. Keith Kilkenny for one came out of the defence and into the half-forward line and his influence on the game soared as time progressed.

"Sure, if you keep making enough decisions like that they'll eventually come right," Murphy added. David Kennedy was later repositioned from midfield to corner back and, with Gerard Mahon for company, did so much to quell the Kilkenny full-forward line, particularly Richie Hogan and Mathew Ruth.

With Kerril Wade's free-taking a model of consistency and Kevin Hynes and Finian Coone completing a dominant half-forward line, Galway had the greater share of talent in key areas. This might suggest they largely had things under control. Far from it.

Kilkenny in fact were three points up after 10 minutes, the main damage coming with Eoin Guinan's goal on nine minutes. He met Richie Hogan's sideline with prefect precision and left the two-time champions 1-3 to 0-3 in front. Not that Galway had started badly, with both Canning and Coone collecting scores inside the opening 90 seconds.

Despite the setback of conceding the goal and also having one disallowed because of a square ball, Galway tore into their opponents with unrelenting drive. In the closing segment of the first half two more superb placed-balls from Canning and a stunning 80-metre free from Wade brought Galway level in time for the turnaround - 1-6 to 0-9 - and it was no less than they deserved.

There had been the standard 15-minute delay at the start for reasons of crowd control and, incredibly, they were still pouring in at half-time. By then the number had swelled to around 10,000 and no one would have contemplated leaving early such was the ferocity of the pace throughout the second half.

Later, when all was said and done, the Kilkenny manager Br Damien Brennan said Galway simply produced a super-human effort in the first 10 minutes of the second half that ultimately won them the match. Like Murphy's assessment, he was spot on.

First came a fourth beautiful free from Wade, then a huge point by Hynes, and it was finished off with another Wade free. All within six minutes. Galway had pulled three points clear and that established the impetus to drive them home.

And yet with the clock on its knees the game was still there for the taking. Neal Prendergast sent over a majestic point straight from a Galway puck-out on 55 minutes, and on the hour Maurice Nolan's free brought them within a point. One minute 45 seconds later it was all over.

"We just said at half-time we'd give it 30 minutes of everything," said Galway's captain and brilliant centre back John Lee. "And we deserved to win this, because we worked like no other. Things didn't go too well in the first half, but you just know when the team has spirit like this it will come back against any odds."

GALWAY: M Herlihy; P Loughnane, G Mahon, C O'Donovan; M Ryan, J Lee, J Hughes; A Keary, D Kennedy; K Kilkenny (0-1), K Hynes (0-2), F Coone (0-2); K Wade (0-7, six frees), J Canning (0-4, two sidelines, one free), B Hanley. Subs: D White for Ryan (22 mins).

KILKENNY: L Tierney; J Maher, K Joyce, P Cahill; N Prendergast (0-1), R Maher, S Prendergast; P Hartley, P Hogan (0-3, two frees, one 65); G Nolan, M Nolan (0-4, three frees), N Kenny; R Hogan (0-1), E Guinan (1-1), M Ruth (0-1). Subs: E O'Donoghue (0-1) for Kenny (48 mins).

Referee: B Gavin (Offaly).