So far, it has been a great Cadbury Under 21 Championship, with some fantastic games, exciting endings interesting results and all the signs that it's about to get better as we approach the business end of the Championship.

Throughout the Cadbury Championship 'Hero of the Match' Awards are presented to 15 players, who are selected based on their performance, from the provincial semi-finals stage through to the All-Ireland final. The winners of the 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' awarded during the Championship are shortlisted for the overall 'Hero of the Future' award. Last year, Colm O'Neill of Cork was the worthy winner of the 2009 'Hero of the Future' award.

It was in Leinster where the Cadbury Championship kicked off with the first game and Westmeath have progressed after three tough encounters to reach the Cadbury Leinster Final. In their semi-final victory over Laois, it was Ian Coffey who stood out and claimed the 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' award after a fine display. They will now face reigning champions Dublin in the final, who were lucky to overcome the challenge of Carlow in the other semi-final after extra time. In that game it was Carlow's Brendan Murphy who excelled and received the 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' award but unfortunately ended up on the losing side.

The Cadbury Connacht Championship semi-finals took place on St. Patrick's Day and witnessed two shock results. Mayo were looking to win Connacht for the 5th time in a row but Roscommon had other ideas when they clashed in Dr. Hyde Park and came out on top thanks to a late score from Donie Shine. Michael Higgins was the player to catch the eye that day and took the 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' award after a solid display at the back. On the other side of the draw, it was Sligo who upset a fancied Galway team who had won the minor All-Ireland three years ago. This game went to extra-time but Sligo's sharp shooter David Maye accepted the 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' award after his shooting made all the difference.

Cadbury All-Ireland holders Cork went crashing out of the Championship after a heavy defeat from Kerry and Kerry went on to record a facile victory over Waterford to progress to the Munster final. In their victory over the Deise, it was corner forward Paul Geaney who stood out with a very impressive display and picked up the 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' award. Kerry now meet Tipperary, who will play in their fourth successive Munster final and will hope to carry the form of Sean Carey's 'Cadbury Hero of the Match' performance from their semi-final victory over Limerick for their clash with the Kingdom.

'Cadbury Hero of the Match' Awards 2010 (so far)

• Sean Carey (Tipperary)
• Paul Geaney (Kerry)
• Brendan Murphy (Carlow)
• Ian Coffey (Westmeath)
• David Maye (Sligo)
• Michael Higgins (Roscommon) Tweet

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