Kilkenny manager Niall Bergin 'under no illusions' in bid to retain Leinster title

A fine attacking display saw defending Leinster Minor champions Kilkenny assure their place in the final with Galway after a 4-19 to 3-10 win over Dublin in UPMC Nowlan Park.

Jake Mullen and Cian Byrne topped the scoring charts with 1-9 and 3-3 respectively, sharp shooting that proved to be key to shake off the 'Dubs.

Kilkenny boss Niall Bergin was happy with his side’s display against Dublin and even if they lost their way for a period in the second half, it was still a pleasing afternoon.

READ NEXT: Kilkenny make strong statement on and off the field on Leinster Final day 

"It was a good win and obviously we came here to win a Leinster Semi-Final today and we did that but there is plenty of room for improvement," Bergin told CRKC Sport after the match.

"In fairness to Dublin they showed plenty of heart and their battling qualities were there for all to see when they got on top of us at the start of the second half.

"We weathered the storm well and we saw out the game from there but we know that we have lots to work on for the next day."

Kilkenny have been in impressive form throughout their four wins to date in this year’s campaign and they produced another accomplished out in attack.

"4-19 is a good score to get and we still probably left a couple of chances behind us as well.

"We’re under no illusions that if we want to win a Leinster Championship that we are going to be tested and we were definitely tested today against a fine Dublin team.

"It was a funny kind of game too and it was very different to the match in O’Toole Park.

"There was far more space out in Nowlan Park here as well and we did what we had to do but again the most pleasing aspect was when we were put under tested, we were able to respond and get the scores on the board and we didn’t panic too which was important”.

Galway provided Kilkenny with their stiffest test so far and while the Cats will be favourites, they look to have the talent required to prevail.

"We’ve lots of fine hurlers with plenty of firepower on the team and we’re delighted that we got the scores there today and we’ve another day out now in the Leinster Final so we’ll look forward to that," Bergin finished.

FOR MORE KILKENNY GAA NEWS, CLICK HERE