Leinster Senior Hurling Championship round one
Wexford 1-19 Galway 1-19
GALWAY let a six-point lead slip through their fingers in Saturday’s Leinster Senior Hurling Championship opener as a Lee Chin-inspired Wexford staged a late comeback by the Slaney.
Although Henry Shefflin’s men led by 1-11 to 0-8 at half-time – and would have been further in front but for some poor finishing - and remained six points clear after 62 minutes (1-18 to 0-15), they were reeled-in by the combination of a powerful Conor McDonald goal and four late unanswered points from Chin. Conor Cooney struck seven of Galway’s points while Brian Concannon got their goal.
The visitors were forced to withdraw attacking threat Conor Whelan as the Kinvara clubman suffered a hamstring injury with just 10 minutes to go at Wexford Park and is now a doubt for this weekend’s round two game against Westmeath. The Yellowbellies, meanwhile, will host Dublin this Saturday.
Westmeath 1-19 Kilkenny 5-23
A RAPID-FIRE brace of majors helped Kilkenny ease away from the challenge of Westmeath at Cusack Park on Saturday evening.
The home side were quickest out of the traps in Mullingar and had established a 0-10 to 0-6 lead by the 22nd minute, with Killian Doyle, Joey Boyle and Niall O’Brien supplying the scores.
However, Kilkenny struck back with a crucial goal through Mikey Carey to break the Lake county momentum. They then dominated the rest of the half and took a 1-12 to 0-12 lead into the break.
TJ Reid and Alan Murphy points kept the Cats motoring after the turnaround and, when Billy Ryan and James Maher raised green flags in quick succession, the game was beyond Westmeath.
Walter Walsh and TJ Reid rubbed salt in the wounds with two more goals in the closing five minutes, while Owen McCabe netted a consolation goal in the fourth minute of injury-time for Joe Fortune's men.
The Cats host Laois this Saturday evening while Westmeath will make the journey to Salthill to take on Galway.
Dublin 1-20 Laois 2-15
SUBSTITUTE Alex Considine got the crucial score for Dublin at Parnell Park, bagging a major just nine minutes after his introduction.
A Mark Dowling goal after 10 minutes helped Laois into a 1-7 to 0-10 lead at half-time but, within three minutes of the restart, Dublin were in front.
A brace of points from Donal Burke edged the Dubs ahead and the third-quarter remained tight as points from PJ Scully and Aidan Corby kept the visitors in contention. An excellent point from Burke made it 0-16 to 1-11 with 13 minutes to go before Considine landed the hammer blow to put some real daylight between the teams.
Points from Fergal Whitely and James Madden made it 1-18 to 1-12 as the game entered the home stretch, but Laois refused to throw in the towel.
Enda Rowland netted a late free to make it a three-point game in injury-time and another Scully free left it on a knife edge, but Dublin held on for the win.
Munster Senior Hurling Championship round one
Waterford 2-24 Tipperary 2-20
A STRONG second-half showing was enough to give Waterford victory in yesterday afternoon’s Munster senior hurling opener at Walsh Park.
Although they trailed by 1-12 to 0-11 at half-time, the Division One champions upped their game after the break to see off Tipp.
Patrick Curran had opened the scoring for the Déise with a point after 14 seconds as his side comfortably raced into a 0-4 to 0-0 advantage. However, it didn't take Tipperary long to find their feet in front of goal, with Mark Kehoe flicking past Shaun O'Brien in the Waterford net as Colm Bonnar's outfit hit 1-4 without reply.
The introduction of Austin Gleeson and Jamie Barron had the desired effect for Waterford, though, as they overturned the four-point deficit within two minutes of the restart. Liam Cahill's side raced into a 1-14 to 1-12 lead, which they never relinquished thanks to Michael Kiely's goal.
Gleeson and Barron chipped in with 0-2 each, while Stephen Bennett's 0-10 haul, 1-3 from Dessie Hutchinson and an excellent display by man-of-the-match Curran (0-3) all contributed to a hard-earned Waterford win.
Cork 1-17 Limerick 2-25
LIMERICK turned on the style in the opening game of their Championship defence at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday afternoon.
The hosts made the perfect start when Shane Kingston goaled from the off, but Kyle Hayes had the Limerick fans on their feet when he raised a green flag with a wonderful individual effort.
Aaron Gillane profited from a Limerick turnover in a dangerous position to help propel the Treaty men to a four-point interval lead, 2-9 to 1-8.
Try as they might, Kieran Kingston's side couldn't reduce the gap and it was the All-Ireland champions who doubled down on their performance to coast to an 11-point win.
The Treaty will now host Waterford at the Gaelic Grounds this Saturday night, while Cork will have the week off to lick their wounds.
