Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Round 1
Kilkenny 1-24
Dublin 3-16
Paul Keane reports from Parnell Park
LIAM BLANCHFIELD POPPED up with a dramatic injury-time match-winning goal to secure a memorable Leinster SHC Round 1 win for National League champions Kilkenny.
Pat Gilroy’s new look Dublin, with former All-Star defender Liam Rushe running amok at full-forward, looked all set for a famous win when they led by five points with five minutes to go.
They were also superbly led by veteran Conal Keaney who returned from retirement for this season and scored four points from play.
But Keaney was taken off with a worrying shoulder injury with 10 minutes to go and Dublin’s fortunes nosedived in tandem during the closing period.
They still led entering injury-time but Kilkenny had vital momentum at that stage and Blanchfield’s fine solo goal in the 71st minute ultimately tipped the balance.
Kilkenny outscored Dublin by 1-5 to 0-1 in all during the closing stages to secure the battling two-point win and will move on now to play Offaly in Round 2.
TJ Reid top scored for Kilkenny again with 12 points though Cody has plenty of thinking to do ahead of the Offaly game.
Paul Murphy and Colin Fennelly, just back from army duty, came on and were both influential while Blanchfield clearly had a major impact when he came on too.
Dublin’s goals will also concern Cody as the hosts got three of them with two arriving in the first-half to leave Gilroy’s men 2-7 to 0-9 up at half-time.
Rushe was terrific at full-forward and created both goals, the first for Paul Ryan after three minutes and the second for Fergal Whitely approaching the interval.
Rushe also used his power and industry to win frees that Ryan converted.
Rushe and Ryan played in a two-man full-forward line for Dublin with Jake Malone dropping back to midfield, freeing Sean Moran to operate as a sweeper.
It worked a treat and Kilkenny scored just three times from open play in the first-half.
Eoghan O’Donnell, Dublin’s regular full-back, played at centre-back and marked both Reid and Walter Walsh throughout the contest.
Kilkenny had the wind in the second-half but Dublin continued to impress and picked off some excellent scores to open up a five-point lead with 65 minutes played, 3-15 to 0-19.
Dublin subs Tomas Connolly, Fiontan MacGib and Paul Winters all picked off second-half points and Chris Crummey drilled over a beauty to leave them within touching distance of winning, five clear.
But Kilkenny brought all their big game experience to bear on the closing stages and pulled it out of the fire with points from Reid, Eoin Murphy, Fennelly and that excellent Blanchfield goal.
—–
Scorers for Kilkenny: TJ Reid 0-12 (0-8f, 0-2 65), Eoin Murphy 0-4 (0-4f), Liam Blanchfield 1-0, Colin Fennelly 0-3, Walter Walsh 0-2, James Maher 0-2, John Donnelly 0-1.
Scorers for Dublin: Paul Ryan 1-6 (0-5f), Conal Keaney 0-4, Fergal Whitely 1-0, Jake Malone 1-0, Paul Winters 0-03 (0-02f), Tomas Connolly 0-1, Fiontan MacGib 0-1, Chris Crummey 0-1.
KILKENNY: Eoin Murphy; Joey Holden, Padraig Walsh, Paddy Deegan; Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley, Enda Morrissey; Richie Leahy, James Maher; Martin Keoghan, TJ Reid, John Donnelly; Bill Sheehan, Walter Walsh, Ger Aylward.
Subs: Colin Fennelly for Sheehan (33), Conor Fogarty for Keoghan (h/t), Paul Murphy for Morrissey (46), Liam Blanchfield for Leahy (55), Luke Scanlon for Aylward (59).
DUBLIN: Alan Nolan; Paddy Smyth, Cian O’Callaghan, Bill O’Carroll; Sean Moran; Chris Crummey, Eoghan O’Donnell, Shane Barrett; Jake Malone, Rian McBride; Danny Sutcliffe, Conal Keaney, Fergal Whitely; Liam Rushe, Paul Ryan.
Subs: Fiontan MacGib for Sutcliffe (38-39), Paul Winters for Ryan (46), Tomas Connolly for McBride (53), Ryan O’Dwyer for Keaney (60), Shane Durkin for Malone (66).
Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork).
I now know how Mayo feel after losing a final. Hope the Dubs kick on after a great performance. #COYBIB
@Brian Treacy: of course you do. The team you support just lost a first round, round robin game. Exactly how Mayo people feel after losing an All Ireland.
@Brian Treacy: good man Brian. Care to elaborate on that thought?
@Brian Treacy: ha.. should be used to it by now.
@Johnny B: Should have been clearer. Just meant that Dublin should have won that game and it was a sickner after that performance to lose.
I doubt kilkenny will be that bad again. A lot of school boy errors in defence. Subs bench was crucial in second half. Diarmuid kirwan lost the run of himself. Very poor display from the referee on both sides.
@Bazzkk: Kirwin has always been Poor ref and destroys games but is terrified of Cody – see steps for Winning goal
@Bazzkk: ya brutal referee. Always favoured kilkenny down through the years and again today for the last goal there was at least 3 frees in it for dublin
@Tim Brennan: did you see the steps for Liam Rushe in the lead up to Ryan’s goal. 13 steps before he touch the ball off the hurley, then another 7 before he passed it to Ryan.
@Jason Pierce: tbf I never saw rushe solo the ball once today….
@Tim Brennan: “steps for winning goal”….Dublin blatantly tried to chop him down, and your giving out about steps…laughable.
Unreal game, hopefully a sign of things to come. Dublin should be kicking themselves that they couldn’t win that
Nice to see Parnell full
@Ollie Watson: it was far from full
@Cathal: you blind ?
@Ollie Watson: plenty seats either end of the stand
I’m surprised the ref let Kilkenny take their own puck outs, very poor he was, great showing from Dublin tho, super fitness levels
@Roy Ska Butler: What do u want, Dublin to take Kilkennys puck outs?
@Maureen: you’ll get it some day
Good effort from Dublin but the standard was very poor today. Kilkenny were not at the races for much of the game. Some of the Dublin decision making with the ball in the forwards was junior stuff,
I don’t think Galway/tipp etc would be to worried about either team on today’s display but I’d expect Kilkenny to come on a lot more for that match then Dublin.
Were David Treacy and McMorrow injured or were they both unused subs?
Kilkenny really ground out that result today. Holden was brutal again and is there to be cleaned out.
Fair play to Blamchfield for a great finish for the goal. Thought Crummy was excellent for Dublin, keaney’s loss hit them hard.
Not the greatest of games but entertaining enough all the same.
@Ray Farrell: Where was Donal Burke as well? He played all the league games, not even in the squad today!!
@Paul Cullen: injured
Dublin threw it away in the first half. Wides and dropped balls into goalkeeper. Poor decision making up front especially when Rushe was winning frees everywhere. Silly shooting. Then completely retreating down the field allowing Kilkenny massive overlaps in halfback line in last 10 minutes. Shouldve been a 5-10 point victory for Dublin. Worrying times for Kilkenny. Not many of the newcomers went well.
@Tom Bout: even buckley was shocking.you have to say fair play to cats for not dying.definite free out for kks goal as well though.dubs stopped playing in last 10 mins.will be kicking themselves.
@@baz6375: the ref may have been bad but was bad on both sides. I could pick out a half dozen frees that he didn’t give Kilkenny when he should have Liam Rushe took 13 steps with the ball in the lead up to his pass to Ryan’s goal, read the article on joe.ie. Kilkenny were always going to get a purple patch. They were always going to struggle with 7 newcomers, but it’s a learning curve for them. Parnell park won’t be easy for anyone to beat Dublin. It’s The beauty of this years championship. They will take a scalp off someone.
Could one opine that if Reid has on off day this summer Kilkenny will be scrounging for All Ireland tickets like the rest of us….