Ruthless Cats ease to rampant Leinster Final win over Dublin

Kilkenny were never threatened as they emphatically got the better of Dublin in a very one sided Leinster Final at Croke Park.

The game was a reminder of what the provincial decider used to be like at the start of the millennium as the Noresiders secured the biggest winning margin in a final since 2008,  when they defeated Wexford.

It was a 76th Leinster crown for Derek Lyng's side and a fifth on the bounce as they outmuscled and overpowered a very disappointing Dublin outfit who didn't show up really.

After an end to end tussle between the same two counties in Parnell Park last month, a tightly fought affair was expected but just like when he netted the winning goal in Donnycarney, an Eoin Cody effort set the Cats on their way.

The Shamrocks man had the ball in the Dublin net within three minutes of the start and the Dubs were chasing from that point on as the more experienced Kilkenny side took scores at their will.

Chris Crummey, Conor Burke and Donal Burke did their best to keep Dublin in touch but once Sean Brennan dropped a rather routine Tommy Walsh ball into the square and TJ Reid shot home, any chance of a shock had all but evaporated as Kilkenny led 2-18 to 0-9 at the break.

Dublin did start on the front foot upon the resumption but with Adrian Mullen, John Donnelly and Cian Kenny taking scores for fun, the majority of the second half was rather forgetabble.

Kilkenny did get a third goal when once again pouncing on a Dublin defensive lapse as TJ got his second of the afternoon and while Dublin did get one back via Mark Grogan, the majority of the 35,484 in attendance were on their way home at that point.

It's hard to know where Dublin go from here but Kilkenny keep on trucking along and while Mikey Carey's fitness will be a bit of a worry after he went off in the first half, the Leinster champions are now only one win away from the All-Ireland Final.

Teams and Scorers

Kilkenny- TJ Reid (2-6, 0-3 frees); Adrian Mullen (0-7); Eoin Cody (1-1); Cian Kenny (0-4); Martin Keoghan, John Donnelly (0-3 each); Billy Ryan, David Blanchfield, Tom Phelan, Walter Walsh (0-1 each)

Dublin- Donal Burke (0-8, 0-7 frees); Mark Grogan (1-0); Conor Burke (0-3); Dara Purcell (0-2); John Bellew, Paddy Smyth, Chris Crummey, Danny Sutcliffe, Darragh Power (0-1 each)

Kilkenny- Eoin Murphy; Mikie Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh, David Blanchfield, Richie Reid, Mikey Carey; Cian Kenny, Paddy Deegan; Adrian Mullen, TJ Reid, John Donnelly; Martin Keoghan, Billy Ryan, Eoin Cody.

Subs: Shane Murphy for Carey, 29 mins; Tom Phelan for Ryan, 45 mins; Walter Walsh for Mullen, 63 mins; Jordan Molloy for Lawlor, 63 mins; Conor Fogarty for Kenny, 64 mins.

Dublin- Sean Brennan; John Bellew, Eoghan O'Donnell, Paddy Smyth; Chris Crummey, Conor Donohoe, Paddy Doyle; Brian Hayes, Conor Burke; Danny Sutcliffe, Donal Burke, Sean Currie; Fergal Whiteley, Dara Purcell, Ronan Hayes.

Subs: Daire Gray for Doyle, h-t; Darragh Power for Currie, h-t; Mark Grogan for Whiteley, h-t; Colin Currie for R.Hayes, 53 mins; James Madden for B.Hayes, 61 mins.

Referee- Thomas Walsh (Waterford)