It's a big day for two groups of players who have developed a fierce rivalry over the last number of years as Clane and Naas go head to head in the U21 A Championship final at 2.15pm in St Conleth's Park.
These two sides have done battle on plenty of occasions in various age groups over the last number of years, meeting in two of the last three minor finals, both of which have been won by Naas. Clane's appearance in this U21 final is the culmination of some great work at youth level in the club and the emergence of a particularly talented batch of players over the last number of years, with the Lilywhites making it to the last four minor championship finals in a row.
Clane come with a team packed full of talent and one that almost resembles their senior side such is the number of players who feature regularly for that team. They are excellently led in the middle third by Ethan O'Donoghue who has returned to good form after some time out with a knee injury, while U20 All-Ireland winner Brian McLoughlin is central to much of their good work in attack. Shane O'Sullivan - still a minor this year - is another who was part of that U20 All-Ireland winning Kildare side, and he provides some serious pace and a direct running threat in the inside line. One of the more interesting aspects of the Clane team is the return of Ciaran Kelly, a former star for the Kildare minors on two Leinster Championship winning sides. Kelly hasn't played senior football for the last couple of years, but he is looking very confident on front of goal in the U21 championship thus far.
Naas have had to battle through three rounds to make it to the finally, with each game presenting a bigger challenge than the previous. Fr Prendergast Gaels were swotted aside with little fuss, while Aylmer Gaels stuck with the County Town side for large spells in the quarter-final but eventually fell to a 0-15 to 0-8 loss. Sarsfields were much stiffer opposition in the semi-final, but Shane Ryan's goal proved decisive as Naas won out by 1-9 to 0-8.
County hurler Ryan has already found the net five times in three games and is the most potent threat in the Naas forward line, which is missing Ciaran Doyle through injury.
Niall Cronin's men are powerful around the middle third, with another county senior hurler, James Burke, a dominant presence, while Eoin Archbold and Sean Cullen provide huge athleticism.
Clane's defence was hardly examined when they dispatched Maynooth with ease in the semi-final, so it remains to be seen if there is a vulnerability there for Naas to exploit. That said, their main players are in good form and they have an abundance of scoring threats up front that can power them over the line in what should be a tight, high-scoring affair.
Verdict: Clane
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