Leinster 1-23
Connacht 0-16
LEINSTER DENIED CONNACHT an Interprovincial double with a comfortable win in Croke Park this evening.
The all Galway side were unable to match the heroics of their football counterparts last week but a late rally in the final five minutes of the first half at least ensured the game remained competitive for some time.
With Eoin Larkin four from four with placed balls, Leinster held a 0-6 to 0-2 lead after 15 minutes and they stretched that lead to six points with five minutes to go in the half thanks to Conal Keaney and more accurate free-taking from Larkin.
However, the west awoke on the half hour and four unanswered points from Conor Cooney (2), Richie Commins and Padraig Brehony raised hopes of an upset with Leinster only leading 0-11 to 0-9 at the half.
The result was put beyond doubt at the start of the second period though when Larkin, Colin Fennelly and Lester Ryan all pointed before Dublin’s Ryan O’Dwyer scored the game’s only goal with an unstoppable shot past James Skehill.
With Leinster taking their foot off the gas, Connacht tacked on a few late scores but never really looked like causing an upset.
Scorers for Leinster: Eoin Larkin 0-11 (5’65, 4f), Lester Ryan & Colin Fennelly 0-3 each, Ryan O’Dwyer 1-0, Conal Keaney & Richie Hogan 0-2 each, Walter Walsh & Dan Currams 0-1 each.
Scorers for Connacht: Conor Cooney 0-8 (3f), Richie Commins, Niall Healy & Jason Flynn 0-2 each, Padraic Brehony & Padraig Landers 0-1 each.
LEINSTER: Gary Maguire (Dublin); Paul Murphy (Kilkenny), Andrew Shore (Wexford), Ciaran Kenny (Wexford); Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny), Lee Chin (Wexford), Liam Rushe (Dublin); Michael Carton (Dublin), Richie Hogan (Kilkenny); Conal Keaney (Dublin), Ryan O’Dwyer (Dublin), Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny); Walter Walsh (Kilkenny), Dan Currams (Offaly), Colin Fennelly (Kilkenny).
Subs: M Hanlon (Wexford) for Shore (18), TJ Reid for Walsh (h-t), L Ryan (Kilkenny) for Carton (h-t), J Bergin (Offaly) for Currams (50), J McCaffrey (Dublin) for O’Dwyer (68).
CONNACHT (All Galway): James Skehill; David Collins, Dara O’Donoghue, Fergal Moore; Aidan Harte, Iarla Tannian, David Burke; Padraig Brehony; Johnny Coen, Conor Cooney, Jason Flynn; Richie Commins, Niall Healy, Cathal Mannion.
Subs: K Hynes for Tannian (44), D Dolan for Commins (45), B Flaherty for Harte (56), P Landers for Flynn (62), G McInerney for Coen (69).
