THERE WERE FOUR giant-killing attempts in Leinster senior and U20 hurling championship action across the eastern province on Saturday, and while the Antrim senior hurlers pushed Wexford to the wire at Wexford Park in their bid to build on last week’s opening round draw with Dublin, the plaudits this evening were all directed to the Offaly U20 hurlers who secured a fully-deserved six-point win over 2020 All-Ireland minor champions Galway in Tullamore.
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Wexford 1-30 Antrim 1-26
Antrim left themselves with plenty of work to do after struggling to contain an explosive home side in their trip to the south-east, with the Model County racking up 10 points from play in the opening 13 minutes. Rory O’Connor, Cathal Dunbar, Jack O’Connor and Oisín Foley were all on target in this early run of points, but an impressive solo run and finish from James McNaughton kept Antrim in the game.
When Rory O’Connor set up Cathal Dunbar for a Wexford goal in reply in the 14th minute, the home supporters, that numbered over 4,000, were in full voice and confident of a comfortable win, particularly when Jack O’Connor and Lee Chin added further points.
Their confidence was undented by half-time when they led by 1-19 to 1-10, though James Lawlor had to be sharp to make one crucial save.
The second half never quite had the same momentum however, and a combination of a strong defensive effort from Antrim, allied to a steady diet of Conal Cunning frees (0-14 of Antrim’s 1-26 came from placed balls) and 14 Wexford wides over the course of the 70 minutes, ensured that the contest grew increasingly tight, with a couple of late Rory O’Connor points crucial to their 1-30 to 1-26 win.
Dublin 2-23 Westmeath 1-14
The script was different at Parnell Park, where Westmeath made a strong start in their contest with Dublin, but eventually fell away and lost competitiveness.
On the back of their dreadful outing in Nowlan Park last week, the midlanders were much-improved when playing with the wind in the opening half at HQ, having made four changes. Big inside forward Niall Mitchell was one of those drafted back in and he justified that call early on when he goaled after two minutes, helping Westmeath to lead by 1-6 to 0-5 by the midway point in the first half.
Donal and Conor Burke led the scoring for Dublin as they outscored their opponents by 1-6 to 0-2 in the second quarter, with Donal registering the goal in the 35th minute.
Westmeath rallied with a nice burst of points in the ten minutes after half-time, with Ciarán Doyle (0-9, 0-5f) incredibly impressive, but they badly ran out of steam in the final quarter, when two points from Alan Considine off the bench and a goal from Cian Boland, bringing his tally to 1-2, made it 2-23 to 1-14 at the final whistle.
Leinster U20 Hurling Championship
Offaly 3-20 Galway 2-17
The real drama in the province was at lunchtime in Tullamore, where Offaly gave notice that their hurling revolution continues to gather steam. They secured a first hurling championship win over Galway since 1994 as Cormac Egan’s late goal wrapped up a 3-20 to 2-17 win over Galway.
Seven of the 18 players that saw action were part of last year’s minor group, as Limerick native Leo O’Connor – who took charge of that minor team – continues to work wonders in the Faithful County.
First-half goals from Shane Rigney and Joe Hoctor set up the possibility of an upset, though Galway exploded out of the traps after half-time, with Ruben Davitt scoring 1-1 as they drew level, 2-8 to 1-11.
Wonderful points from Screeney, Rigney and Charlie Mitchell put Offaly back on top however, and Egan’s stoppage time goal confirmed their win.
Westmeath 3-12 Wexford 3-17
Meanwhile in Mullingar, Corey Byrne Dunbar set up Jack Redmond for a goal after eight minutes and while Westmeath responded with a green flag from David Williams, they never could get on level terms with Wexford at any stage.
Cillian Byrne and Redmond added the next two goals in a 3-17 to 3-12 win for the Model County.