Leinster SHC round two
Carlow 0-22 Dublin 1-24
Galway 2-23 Kilkenny 0-29
THE spoils may have been shared in Salthill – and it was Galway captain Conor Whelan who popped up with the injury-time score that left it 2-23 to 0-29 at the end of their clash with Kilkenny at Pearse Stadium – but Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng will feel much the happier of the two managers as he reflects on where the two sides are in advance of an expected rematch in the Leinster final.
Galway made the faster start to lead by 0-6 to 0-3 after 11 minutes and they jumped back two ahead when Gavin Lee finished off a good team move to make it 1-7 to 0-8 with 20 minutes gone.
TJ Reid (two), Keoghan, Phelan, and Mikey Butler rifled over points, nudging Kilkenny into a 0-16 to 1-9 advantage, and they briefly went five in front through a David Blanchfield point early in the second half, but once again Galway were able to come up with an energising goal.
Brian Concannon swooped in to net and on the next play Conor Whelan levelled the game.
Once again Kilkenny pushed on with Jordan Molloy and John Donnolly prominent, but Galway were able to dial up a comeback once again. It was initiated by points from Cianan Fahy and Cathal Mannion and concluded when Evan Niland struck his seventh point of the day from a free and Whelan finished the job.
When seen through the prism of their 10-point win over the same opposition at the same venue last year, Dublin’s 1-24 to 0-22 win over Carlow might be seen as regression. Yet given Wexford’s defeat to Antrim, Dublin supporters will be quite happy to see their side with three points on the board before meeting Antrim.
Dublin were incredibly lethargic in the opening half and Carlow were not at all flattered by their early 0-9 to 0-3 lead, with Marty Kavanagh, Jon Nolan and Ciarán Whelan scoring some excellent points.
0-13 to 0-9 flattered Dublin with only Danny Sutcliffe making an impression up front in that opening 35 minutes. Yet Conor Burke stepped into the game after half-time, scoring three points from midfield. Paddy Doyle and Daire Grey also weighed in with some outstanding scores.
Dublin still struggled to gain any traction close to the Carlow goal but they nudged their way in front, then had that lead preserved when Seán Brennan made a brilliant low diving save to repel Conor Kehoe’s effort.Thjey eventually made sure of their win through a fortunate Fergal Whitely goal in the 60th minute. The effort from the sub from 50 metres out dropped at the last minute – and with Eoghan O’Donnell impeding Ciarán Abbey’s vision, the sliotar snuck into the top corner to give Dublin the breathing room they needed.
Round three
Saturday, May 4 Wexford v Galway (Chadwicks Wexford Park, 4pm, live on GAAGO)
Saturday, May 11 Dublin v Antrim (Parnell Park, 4pm); Carlow v Kilkenny (4.30pm, live on GAAGO
