Kilkenny 2-13 Tipperary 0-15 By Cóilín Duffy Is there anyone to stop the talented Cats? A clean sweep of All-Ireland Hurling titles in 2008 has been ensured by a determined Under 21 outfit, who carved out a four-point victory in a testing Bórd Gáis decider against Tipperary at Croke Park. Goals win games and although both sides failed to produce a 'major' in the second half of this contest, when the stakes were at their highest; it was Kilkenny's early groundwork which stood to them well, as they held out for a first title since 2006. Matthew Ruth was the hero of the hour for the Cats as his first-half haul of 2-2 put Kilkenny in a commanding position, and although Tipperary were resilient in the second half, the Premier County failed to lead their counterparts over the closing half hour. However despite Ruth; Senior players TJ Reid and Richie Hogan, and full-forward John Mulhall amassing 2-12 between them; this was a game which saw Tipperary's defence stand firm throughout, especially in the second half when the Premier County weren't keen to hand this All-Ireland title to Kilkenny on a plate. Tipperary held supremacy early on, and held a well-deserved 0-3 to 0-1 sixth minute lead with Pa and Shane Bourke on target, while right-half back Kevin Lanigan also popped up from defence to take a hard-earned score. Lanigan was one of two Tipperary defenders to contribute to his sides first half tally, with half-back Brendan Maher also on target in injury-time. However Declan Carr's charges certainly had a lot of work to do at that stage, and held a six-point deficit at the interval. Once Kilkenny equalised for the second time in the 13th minute at 0-4 apiece, the momentum was firmly with the Cats. It was Ruth who had provided the equalising score, and again the James Stephens player was on hand to propel Kilkenny into the lead; following a well worked goal a minute later, with Senior star TJ Reid the provider. Reid placed the Tipperary defence under strong pressure, looked around for possible options and off-loaded a hand pass to Matthew Ruth, who calmed slotted past Tipperary goalkeeper Matthew Ryan. Ruth and Kilkenny had a second goal chance within a minute, but good work by Kevin Maher in defence ensured the eager Cats were kept at bay. But this wasn't for long as Kilkenny scored three of the next four points, to build into a double-score lead on a 1-7 to 0-5 score-line with Richie Hogan (2) and John Mulhall adding points. The switch of Seamus Callanan to full-forward by manager Declan Carr, gave Tipperary hope that they could reap dividends in attack, but a second Ruth goal in the 29th minute, dented their opponents hopes heading into the break. However Tipperary finished the half strongly as points from Brendan Maher and midfielder Gearóid Ryan helped cut the deficit to two-goals by the interval. Tipperary were a fired up force in the second half and managed to hold the Cats to a single point in the third quarter - a 40th minute free from Richie Hogan, as Pa Bourke fired from all angles. Just two points separated the sides as the game entered the closing 15 minutes, following industrious work by Bourke and Ryan in attack, with the Tipperary full-back line of Michael Cahill, Pádraig Maher and Kevin Maher also holding strong. Despite the continued good work of Tipperary, Kilkenny had the extra edge with midfielder Niall Walsh taking a fine score, while despite some good pressure by half-forward Patrick Maher in search of an elusive Tipperary goal; Kilkenny's defence withstood huge pressure until the death. A clean-sweep of Hurling titles for the Cats this year, with Nickey Brennan again handing over silverware to a fellow county-man - this time James Dowling of St. Martin's - as the Cats captured their fifth title in this grade, and a first since 2006. Kilkenny - C McGrath; P Murphy, K Joyce, E O'Shea; L Ryan, P Hogan, N Prendergast; J Dowling, N Walsh (0-1); C Fennelly, N Cleere, TJ Reid (0-2); M Ruth (2-2), J Mulhall (0-2), R Hogan (0-6, 6f). Subs - JJ Farrell for Cleere (35); J Maher for Dowling (54); M Bergin for Farrell (60) Tipperary - M Ryan; M Cahill, P Maher, K Maher; K Lanigan (0-1), T Stapleton, B Maher (0-1); G Ryan (0-3, 1 sl), S Hennessy; P Maher, S Callanan (0-1), T McGrath; P Bourke (0-8, 7f 1 sl), M O'Meara, S Bourke (0-1). Subs - J O'Keeffe for Lanigan (30+2); D O'Hanlon for O'Meara (38); P Ivors for S Bourke (47); J Ryan for McGrath (50) Referee - James Owens (Wexford) Tweet

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