The Old Boro win a classic.

It will come as no surprize to some to read here that with some time now, I am a firm believer that all championships within the County should be run on an all county basis in both hurling and football.

The under 14 and 16 championships which are played now on an all county basis for well over a decade now have helped in no small part in the rise of Waterford hurling in the past decade or so. The move a few years back to play the minor championships on a county wide basis is a move that has to be welcomed.

Sadly, there is some in the county right now that want the minor and possibly other competitions to revert back to a competition run on a divisional basis with the winners in each division advancing to a county final, as what has happed for more years than more care to remember for.

Make no mistake, the current championship formats are not without their flaws, but these are minimal and can easily be ironed out with a little bit of thinking and the agreement of the clubs and board officers.

It may not be a popular thing to say in some circles, but some that are currently making the most noise about reverting back to divisional style championship with the winners meeting in the county final could be to a degree, be feathering their own nests.

Some of those that are against the all county competitions at underage and adult levels argue that history is behind their reasons they are making the sounds they are, but cynics and call me one if you want, know that there is other reasons which are more important to them than historical ones.

There is some that are quiet vocal in arguing that history shows that Divisional Boards in the past have served the G.A.A. in Waterford well. There is not too many that will argue that this is not true. I won’t anyway.

However, there comes a time when changes have to be made. The history agenda used should not come into what should happen. What should is what is best for Waterford.

Anybody that knows me will know that I love history, but history is in the past and all county competitions are about the future and the future only becomes history when it becomes the past.

This years county minor hurling championship final shows why the minor and all other competitions have be run on an all county basis.

For the second year in a row, those attending the county final were served up what can only be described as a classic.

Who in their right mind could argue that Dungarvan and Saint Carthage’s, two clubs from the west of the county should not be in the competitions show piece finale.

If this years minor county final was played on a divisional basis within the county, then one of these two fine teams, who proved themselves to be the best in the county this year, would not be have contested Sunday’s final. Ask yourself who would be the looser. The answer most defiantly would be hurling. What a shame it would have been if these two sides had not got the chance to do battle.

From the off the writing was on the wall that this was going to be one of those not to miss games.

When the sides met in the league stages of the competition back in July it was Saint Carthage’s that came out on top winning 2-14 to 1-9. On the night Dungarvan were short some players, so with both sides at full strength everybody knew that this battle was going to be a very tight one.

When two sides meet twice in the same competition, the side that wins the first game always know that they are up against it in the second game which is always the harder game to win.

Dungarvan had a good start in this game. Cathal Curran who won the Man of the Match Award hit a brace of early points to give them a 0-2 to 0-0 score with less than three minutes played.

The side from the far west who in the panel include players from Ballysaggart, Lismore, Melleray and Tourin hit back with a goal on five minutes. Shane Bennett had his shot saved but Adam Flynn was in the right place at the right time and got a touch on the ball too put it past Rian Crotty in the Dungarvan goal.

Cathal Curran and Shane Bennett swapped scores from frees before Cathal Curran levelled matters with ten minutes played when he put over his fourth score of the game.

For many years Waterford were struggling to find goal keepers that were up to the same standard as the likes of Donal Óg Cusack, Davy Fitzgerald, Brendan Cummins and Damien Fitzhenry, but all of a sudden, a group of brilliant young goalkeepers have started to come through where little if anything separates them in ability.

One of these goalkeepers is Seanie Barry. In this game he proved why he is so highly rated, making two fantastic saves. The first of these saves came on ten minutes when he dived low to his left to keep out a Patrick Curran effort. He put the ball out for a ’65 which Cathal Curran converted. The same player hit his sixth point of the game moments later and on fourteen minutes Seanie Barry again made a fantastic save keeping out a Lee Hyslop shot using his feet.

Cathal Curran and Darragh Prendergast exchanged points either side of the quarter way mark in the game before Shane Bennett and Cormac Curran exchanged points from frees.

Patrick Curran gave Dungarvan a three point advantage on twenty one minutes before Stephen Bennett and Ryan Donnelly swapped scores within seconds of each other on twenty-two minutes.

Patrick Curran, Stephen Bennett, Ryan Donnelly, Stephen Bennett again and Cathal Curran hit points between the twenty-third and twenty-eight minute which kept four between the sides.

On twenty-nine minutes a long range Stephen Bennett free went straight to the net to cut Dungarvan’s lead to one but in the time added at the end of the first half Cathal Curran twice scored to give his side a 0-15 to 2-6 lead as the sides headed to the dressing rooms.

Dungarvan began the second half as they had started the first with Aaron Donnelly pointing two minutes after the restart.

Stephen Bennett who had a fine game in the black and amber shirt hit four points in a row, two from frees and two from play to draw the sides level with thirteen minutes of the second half played.

Patrick Curran followed up with a delightful score before older brother Cathal cracked the ball past Seanie Barry following some good work by Ryan Donnelly on forty-six minutes which gave Dungarvan a 1-17 to 2-10 lead.

However, within seconds the sides were back to a one point difference once more. From the restart the side from the far west of the county worked the ball down field and Adam Flynn made no mistake in hitting his second goal of the game with fourteen minutes to play.

Cathal Curran added two points before Stephen Bennett did like wise to leave one between the sides with time ticking down.

However, there was still time for some drama, lots of it.

Kieran Bennett brought the sides level with a minute to play. Dungarvan attacked and after some good work by Ryan Donnelly he found Aaron Donnelly who hit a second Dungarvan goal which sent the large support for the Old Boro club leaping into the air.

However, the game was not over and with two minutes of added time played Stephen Bennett hit his second goal of the game to level matters once more.

Most would have been in agreement had the time to be added at the end of the half not been announced, the fairest thing that referee Thomas Walsh could do at this stage would be to blow his full time whistle. If he did, few would have complained. But the time was announced and he had to keep going.

Patrick Curran with the help of the upright gave Dungarvan the lead on sixty-three minutes and seconds later Ryan Donnelly who played a real captains roll in this game further extended Dungarvan’s lead.

When the full time whistle followed shortly afterwards, it was met with a huge seal of approval from the Dungarvan supporters who won a first final at this grade for the first time in twenty-eight long years.

Dungarvan: Rian Crotty; Shane Duggan, Jack Morrissey, Billy Egan; Keith Healy, Kevin Daly, Darragh Lyons; Glen Power, Joe Allen; Cathal Curran, Gavin Power, Patrick Curran; Aaron Donnelly, Ryan Donnelly, Lee Hyslop. Subs: Denis Kirwan for Shane Duggan, Darragh Fitzgerald for Denis Kirwan,

Scorers: Cathal Curran 1-13 (0-11 frees, 0-2 ‘65s), Patrick Curran 0-4, Aaron Donnelly 1-1, Ryan Donnelly 0-3.

Saint Carthage’s: Seanie Barry; Pat Hennessy, Bobby Ryan, Jack Leahy; Darren Meagher, Kieran Bennett, David Prendergast; Mark Montayne, Paudie Coleman; Stephen Bennett, Darragh Prendergast, Jordan Shanahan; Adam Flynn, Shane Bennett, Ronan Landers. Subs: Cathal Fitzgerald for Mark Montayne, Stephen Hale for Darragh Prendergast.

Scorers: Stephen Bennett 2-9 (0-4 frees), Adam Flynn 2-0, Shane Bennett 0-2, Darragh Prendergast, Kieran Bennett 0-1 each.

Referee: Thomas Walsh (Fourmilewater).