Kilkenny under-19s show well in good win over Wexford

Kilkenny made it two wins from two in the under-19 Hurling Development League when proving much too strong for Wexford on Good Friday.

This five-star performance, coupled with a win away to Dublin in UCD, has all but assured Mark Aylward’s team of a place in the final even ahead of their final group game with Offaly.

Winning is good but it’s far from the most important aspect of this competition, with gametime and developing players for the future high on the to-do list of the various management teams.

Unlimited use of subs allows teams to see a vast amount of players in action and this game was no different in that regard.

Credit must go to Kilkenny as they are the originators of this concept as officials in the county look to restrict the gap from under-17 to under-20. This looks to be a novel idea with players who have yet to appear in the under-20 championship getting a chance to impress any onlookers.

Any followers of colleges hurling would have been familiar with a lot of the names appearing for Kilkenny with representation from St Kieran’s, Kilkenny CBS, Good Counsel, New Ross and Colaiste Mhuire, Johnstown.

Among the more notable names were the St Kieran’s and St Martin’s duo of James O’Neill and Sean Hunt who, between them, scored 5-4 including all of the Kilkenny goals.

Quite the display for two players who only recently won an All-Ireland title with their school!

Elsewhere James Stephens star Ed Lauhoff, who is another player from the St Kieran’s academy, scored five points from play while Tullaroan’s Ciallin Brennan and Glenmore’s Darragh Vereker also stood out.

Dicksboro’s Mikey Stynes did well off the bench while the lesser-known Niall O’Brien from Piltown had a decent showing too.

Wexford were the first on the scoreboard when David McCarthy pointed from play in the opening minute before Kilkenny then took control when they netted their opening goal through Sean Hunt.

Ed Lauhoff, Niall O’Brien and Ciallin Brennan followed up with further scores and while Wexford stayed competitive with a free from Darragh Browne, it wasn’t long til the Cats found the net once again.

Hunt looked set for another three-pointer when he received a pass from Ciallin Brennan but Wexford stopper John Sunderland did well to deny him before James O’Neill was there to tap in the rebound.

Kilkenny led 2-3 to 0-2 at that point and they still found time to add a third goal before the break with O’Neill providing a tidy finish after earlier good play from Ed Lauhoff and Michael Ahern.

Wexford struggled to get the required scores up front and with Lauhoff, Brennan and Niall O’Brien continuing to show well, Kilkenny held a sizeable lead at the change of ends.

Both teams made use of their benches throughout the second period and while there was a real challenge game feel to proceedings, that’s exactly the type of game it was as players look to showcase their talents.

Sean Hunt also managed to get two more goals for himself as he sealed his hat-trick before subs Mikey Stynes, Colm Treacey and Sean Hamilton all made their mark on the game as Kilkenny eventually ran out 5-20 to 0-17 winners.

Teams and Scorers

Kilkenny - Sean Hunt (3-1); James O’Neill (2-3); Ed Lauhoff (0-5); Mikey Stynes (0-4, 0-1 free); Ciallin Brennan (0-3); Niall O’Brien (0-2, 0-1 free); Colm Treacy, Sean Hamilton (0-1 each).

Wexford - Darragh Browne (0-4, 0-4 frees); Steven Walsh (0-4); Eoghan Cassin (0-3, 0-2 frees); David McCarthy (0-3); Cian Carthy, Ben Sinnott, Michael Furlong (0-1 each).

Kilkenny - Billy O’Sullivan (James Stephens); Conor Brophy (Erin’s Own), Rory Garrett (Fenians), Oisin Bateman (James Stephens); Cathal Hickey (St Lachtain’s), Darragh Vereker (Glenmore), Michael Ahern (Emeralds); Jamie Lyng (Tullogher Rosbercon), Rory Connellan (Thomastown); Tomas Roche (John Lockes), Ed Lauhoff (James Stephens), Ciallin Brennan (Tullaroan); James O’Neill (St Martin’s), Niall O’Brien (Piltown), Sean Hunt (St Martin’s).

Subs: Cian Kelly (Clara), Noah Manogue (James Stephens), Liam Hogan (Mooncoin), Sean Deely (James Stephens), Michael Keane (St Martin’s), Mikey Stynes (Dicksboro), Colm Treacy (Thomastown), Sean Hamilton (Graignamanagh), Steven Kinsella (Graignamanagh), Jack Campion (Bennettsbridge), Anthony Ireland Wall (Danesfort), Andrew Phelan (Piltown), Conor Power (Mullinavat), Conor Doyle (Windgap).

Wexford - John Sunderland; Paddy Redmond, Matthew Bishop, James Kenny; Vincent Higgins, Michael Furlong, Doran Daly O’Toole; Jack Hennessy, Darragh Browne; Sean Doyle, Matthew Murphy, Cian Carthy; David McCarthy, Thomas Cummins, Eoghan Cassin.

Subs: Steven Walsh, Jason Rossiter, Brian O’Meara, Billy Redmond, Eoin Sinnott, David Nolan, Matthew Tully, Ben Sinnott, Niall Cullen, Thomas Walsh, Sean Og Doyle, Evan Quigley, Ciaran Doyle.

Referee - Julian O’Dwyer