Dunne to the fore as Kilkenny Under 20’s advance to Leinster last four

It was very much a game of two halves as Kilkenny and Laois met in this Under 20 clash during the midst of Storm Kathleen at MW Hire O’Moore Park.

The emphatic sixteen point success sees Kilkenny top the group and secure their place in the Leinster Semi-Finals as the winners showed their ruthless side with Gearoid Dunne, Marty Murphy and goalkeeper Niall Holland all finding the net.

Dunne was the best player on the field as he scored four goals including two penalties and it was his effort in the opening period after Niall Shortall was fouled in the square that was most crucial.

As well as that penalty effort, an opportunistic strike by Marty Murphy which was his third goal in two games laid the platform for the Kilkenny success as they trailed by a point at the break after playing against a gale force wind.

Dunne led the charge in the second period and with his clubmate Niall Holland also scoring fortuitously from near his own goal, it was one way traffic till the final whistle.

Kilkenny struggled with the elements to begin with as they trailed 1-5 to 0-0 after ten minutes of play with Cormac Byrne’s goal helping the Midlanders buid up a sizeable advantage.

Kilkenny eventually got on the board with a Niall Shortall point on fourteen minutes and slowly but surely they found their groove with Marty Murphy’s goal when a Michael Brennan delivery caused trouble in the Laois defence getting the Cats going.

Laois did hit back with points from Ben Deegan and Jer Quinlan but Kilkenny enjoyed a golden period before the break with Harry Shine, Michael Brennan and Eoghan Lyng knocking over points before Gearoid Dunne converted the first of his two penalties.

As a result Kilkenny only trailed by a point at the break and with conditions in their favour, it was hard to see anything but one way traffic towards the town end of O’Moore Park and while the home side remained gallant, the Cats proved way too good.

Laois only scored four points in the second thirty minutes which included three Ben Deegan frees while in contrast Kilkenny notched 4-9.

Dunne may have got a second penalty but he was also in the right place to grab two goal’s from play and with Niall Holland finding the net past the luckless Brochan O’Reilly, the winners raced clear with Ryan Corcoran, Cillian Hackett and Aaron McEvoy all getting on the scoresheet before the end.

Teams and Scorers

Kilkenny- Gearoid Dunne (4-2); Marty Murphy (1-1); Harry Shine (0-3, 3f's); Niall Holland (1-0); Eoghan Lyng, Niall Shortall (0-2 each); Michael Brennan, Ryan Corcoran, Cillian Hackett (0-1 each); Aaron McEvoy (0-1, 1f)

Laois- Ben Deegan (0-8, 8f’s); Cormac Byrne (1-0); Eoghan Cuddy, Cody Comerford, Colin Byrne, Conor Fitzpatrick, Jer Quinlan (0-1 each)

Kilkenny- Niall Holland (Tullaroan); Jeff Neary (Graigue Ballycallan), Killian Corcoran (Shamrocks), Ivan Bolger (Graignamanagh); Eoghan Lyng (Rower Inistioge), Bill Hughes (Bennettsbridge), Paddy Langton (Young Irelands); Cillian Hackett (Dicksboro), Killian Doyle (Emeralds); Niall Shortall (Shamrocks), James Walsh (Kilmacow), Michael Brennan (Erins Own); Harry Shine (Dicksboro), Marty Murphy (Tullogher Rosbercon), Gearoid Dunne (Tullaroan).

Subs- Aaron McEvoy (Graigue Ballycallan) for Walsh, 43 mins; Ted Dunne (Graignamanagh) for Brennan, 45 mins; Tom McPhillips (Dicksboro) for Shine, 48 mins; Ryan Corcoran (Graigue Ballycallan) for Shortall, 52 mins; Padraig O’Grady (Fenians) for Lyng, 62 mins.

Laois- Brochan O’Reilly; Joseph Pearson, Cathal Cuddy, Ciaran Flynn; Cormac Hogan, Eoghan Cuddy, Tom Cuddy; Cody Comerford, Aaron Phelan; Ben Deegan, Colin Byrne, Conor Fitzpatrick Jack Breen, Jer Quinlan, Cormac Byrne.

Subs- Tommy Brennan for Phelan, h-t; James Cuddy for Colin Byrne, 42 mins; Bobby Murphy for Breen, 42 mins; Kevin Byrne for Hogan, 50 mins; Evan Cassin for Comerford, 58 mins.

Referee- Brian Kearney (Kildare