Leinster Hurling Championship: Relentless Kilkenny punish Antrim in opener
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It was a tough start to the Leinster Hurling Championship for Antrim at Nolan Park on Sunday as Kilkenny secured a comprehensive 5-30 to 0-13 victory.
There was no mercy from the Cats who were keen to make a mark and they did, dominating from start to finish to give Antrim no encouragement to cause an upset.
They were simply stronger, sharper and playing the game at a different pace to Antrim who couldn’t get into it at all.
After initial exchanges that saw TJ Reid get two free goals to Conal Cunning’s one, Kilkenny began to open up their shoulders with Adrian Mullen, Richie Reid and John Donnelly Landon out of play.
The Saffrons responded with Cunning being freed either side of the first play by James McNaughton, with the first of the placed balls coming when Eoghan Campbell was adjudged to have been tracked down just outside the area for a goal.
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Kilkenny were dominating the start of the second half as Antrim struggled to win key possession and after points from Cian Kenny and Martin Keoghan, the goal they were threatening arrived when Paddy Deegan got past Antrim, going wide to TJ Reid who beat Ryan McGarry in the air. Before rushing towards the goal.
Two points followed before Antrim goalkeeper Ryan Elliott was fouled for bringing down Keoghan outside the area but it was ruled a penalty infringement. Tiernan Smyth came on with making way for Niall McKenna for 10 minutes and the Ballycastle man made a stunning save from a Reid penalty.
Conor McCann’s score at the other end was Antrim’s reply, but although the wide attacks were on the rise for Kilkenny with nine in the first half, there were enough scores to supplement their 1-15 to 0-7 lead at the break.
It took Kilkenny a few minutes to get going in the second half as Reid once again got them out from a free kick with John Donnelly and Shane Murphy involved.
Antrim made little or no progress, scoring the odd chipped goal, but Kilkenny were in overdrive with the bench which compromised their value as Owen Wall scored his second in the 49th minute.
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Billy Drennan would rep in well for TJ Reid with a 1-6 space between free and play, his goal coming from a subsequent penalty after Keoghan had been tripped by Connor Boyd outside the area but he saw off a goalscoring chance to earn another black card.
Before that, Wall scored his second and Gearóid Dunne also netted to cap a very impressive display from Derek Laing’s men, while Antrim will now be looking to make a comeback when they host Wexford next week.
