Kilkenny overcome Dublin to maintain unblemished Leinster U20 Championship record

Kilkenny maintained their unbeaten record in the O’Neill’s.com Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship on Saturday evening, overcoming a spirited Dublin in UPMC Nowlan Park.

The host’s victory was far from straightforward, with two Dublin purple patches in both halves giving home supporters a warning ahead of the knockout phase.

The Noresiders, did finish the contest with 14 players following an off the ball incident involving Timmy Kelly, but his dismissal in the dying moments of normal time didn’t knock Mark Dowling’s team off course.

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Goals ultimately proved to be the decisive factor on the day, with Dublin’s concession of the first after just two minutes and a misplaced pass for the third netted Cats finish in the second half, moments manager Fintan Clandillon will look back on with some regrets.

Kilkenny made a dream start, racing into a 1-5 to 0-0 advantage after eight minutes. A high dropping ball from James Hughes 65 metres out, bypassed goalkeeper Daniel Joyce and raised the first green flag of the day after just two minutes. Five points without reply followed, including a brace from the impressive Ed McDermott as the Cats purred early on.

Dublin did eventually find their rhythm and hit the hosts with punch after punch, bagging seven points in a row over an eleven minute period (1-5 to 0-7 after 20 minutes) with Senan Crosbie and David Purcell the driving force for the Dubs.

However, an Ed McDermott goal three minutes before half-time halted their momentum with Kilkenny leading 2-8 to 0-10 at half-time.

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The second half began at a blistering rate with two goals inside two minutes. Michael Brennan raised the first green flag for Dowling’s men, only for the home team’s celebrations to be cut short through a David Purcell bullet directly from the next play (3-8 to 1-10 after 32 minutes).

The teams traded scores for much of the remainder of the half with the game leaning in Kilkenny’s favour.

But Dublin never gave up and a Daniel O’Kelly goal did make for a nerve-wracking closing few minutes (3-15 to 2-12 after 50 minutes) but points from Marty Murphy, Eoghan Lyng and Ed McDermott steadied the Noresider’s ship and secured the win.

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Kilkenny - Ed McDermott (1-5); Michael Brennan (1-2); Aaron McEvoy (0-5); James Hughes (1-0); Eoghan Lyng (0-3); Rory Glynn (0-2); Jeff Neary, Tom McPhillips and Marty Murphy (0-1 each).

Dublin - David Purcell (1-5, 0-3 f, 0-1 65); Daniel O'Kelly (1-2); Senan Crosbie, Conail O'Riain, Nathan Fitzgerald (0-2 each); Joe Sheppard, Cathal Kennedy, David Mulqueen (0-1 each).

Referee - Eamonn Furlong (Wexford)

LISTEN: Kilkenny managers Mark Dowling (U20) and Niall Bergin (Minor)