Leinster SHC- Main Talking Points

Main Man
TJ Reid (Kilkenny)
It was an afternoon where we learned very little about Kilkenny’s future prospects but it was still nice to see TJ Reid in such fine form as he scored 1-5 during his 44 minutes on the field of play. The Shamrocks man even got a standing ovation when substituted after Derek Lyng gave him a bit of a rest when the game was gone as a contest. Elsewhere, Cian Kenny again continues to excel at midfield while there was a sizeable bench impact from the likes of Billy Drennan, Gearoid Dunne and Owen Wall.

Highlight
Kilkenny had twelve different scorers over the course of the game which is a big positive ahead of bigger tests in the coming weeks.

Lowlight
With Kilkenny always likely to win the game, a clean bill of health afterwards would have been one of the main objectives but unfortunately, the defending Leinster champions took a bit of a hit in that regard with Adrian Mullen, Eoin Cody and Eoin Murphy all going off injured.

Talking point
Scoring 5-30 is a positive in any game but Kilkenny would have still preferred if their opponents put up a bit more of a stern resistance and made the contest a little more competitive.

Turning Point
Antrim stayed with the hosts during the opening quarter and may feel that they could have also had a penalty during that early spell. To rub salt into the Saffron wounds, they lost goalkeeper Ryan Elliott to a black card minutes later and although the penalty was saved, an earlier TJ Reid goal put the Cats clear on the scoreboard.

Attendance
2,855

What’s Next
Kilkenny travel to Salthill to meet Galway next Sunday while Antrim entertain Wexford in Corrigan Park 24 hours earlier.