ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE: Kilkenny 2-16 Wexford 0-17:KILKENNY MAINTAINED their unbeaten run in the league,, but it was a day where the result mattered more than the performance.
“We got the win we wanted,” said Kilkenny boss, Brian Cody. “We want to make the final, so, hopefully, we can keep this good run going.”
Played in front of a poor attendance – just over 3,000 people were in Nowlan Park for this meeting of the South-Eastern neighbours – Kilkenny were sent on their way by a Richie Hogan free and after nine minutes grabbed their first goal, TJ Reid rattling the net following some good work from Eoin Larkin and Eddie Brennan.
It took Wexford 12 minutes to open their account with a David Redmond point, but points from Colin Fennelly and Hogan already left them chasing the game. It could have gotten much worse, as Hogan was presented with a golden chance to bag a second goal soon after, but he blasted the sliotar wide from close range.
Kilkenny continued to test Wexford, but found the visitors in solid form in defence. Two Jim Berry frees kept Colm Bonnar’s side in the fight, but as the half wore on they found the gap steadily increasing. Much of the damage came from Hogan, who ended the half with five points to his name, while Colin Fennelly maintained his good form with two more scores.
Six clear by the 30th minute (1-8 to 0-5), Kilkenny’s lead was stretched even further thanks to a little slice of luck.
Racing from his line, Wexford goalkeeper Noel Carton pulled first time on a loose ball, but saw the sliotar crash of Colin Fennelly and loop into his net. Both sides bagged one more point each, but that still left Kilkenny with a nine-point cushion at the break (2-9 to 0-6).
That gap was up to ten points thanks to James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick’s second-half opener, but Kilkenny took their foot off the gas in the second half. Missing the drive of the injured Michael Rice they allowed Wexford to eat away at their lead.
With the accuracy of free-taker Berry shining through and a strong performance from wing-forward Stephen Banville adding more power, Wexford began to gain ground. They had a goal chance of their own, when Banville let fly with a venomous shot, but Kilkenny keeper PJ Ryan did well to make a fine stop before clearing his lines.
Wexford did cut the deficit to five points in the 65th minute (2-15 to 0-16) but that was as good as it got. Eddie Brennan grabbing the last valuable point to keep Kilkenny on track for their third successive victory and subsequent top place in the Division One table.
KILKENNY:PJ Ryan; PJ Delaney, N Hickey, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, J Dalton, P Murphy; M. Rice, M. Fennelly; C Fennelly (1-3), TJ Reid (1-3, two frees), E Larkin; J Fitzpatrick (0-2), E Brennan (0-2), R Hogan (0-6, five frees). Subs:P Hartley for Rice (inj 26 mins), E Guinan for Hogan (54 mins).
WEXFORD:N Carton; P Roche, M O'Hanlon, C Kenny; L Prendergast, D Stamp, C Farrell; M Jacob (0-1), D Redmond (0-1), T Waters, H Kehoe, S Banville (0-3); E Martin, G Sinnott, J Berry (0-9, six frees). Subs:E Quigley (0-1) for Farrell (ht), PJ Nolan (0-2) for Waters (45 mins), B Doyle for Martin (54 mins), B Hobbs for Redmond (67 mins).
Referee:T Carroll (Offaly).
