Kilkenny Under 20 manager reacts to opening Leinster Championship victory

It wasn’t pretty, but Kilkennny got the job done in their opening under-20 fixture at a miserable Chadwicks Wexford Park last weekend.

“The conditions were rotten out there but I thought we were very honest and disciplined about how we went about things from the start,” manager Mark Dowling told the Kilkenny People after the game.

“We just stayed in the fight in the first half which was important for us and we were unlucky with the goal which gave them a bit of oxygen going into the second half but the lads clawed back that lead well and we are happy with their effort.”

Read More: Kilkenny see off Wexford in Under 20 opener

It was a rather low scoring affair but the Dicksboro man was happy with his side’s patience in difficult conditions.

“Scores were hard to come by and even with a strong wind at our back in the second half, the slippery conditions were difficult to hurl in.

“As a result the shot selection has to be correct or else you’ll hit a lot of wides and I thought that’s what happened with Wexford. I was fearful we’d suffer the same fate but we took the shots at the right time. On any day the discipline in the team is important but especially in bad weather conditions. There’s a mental energy required in a way so fair play to the lads. Our ability to stay on task with everything we done was crucial too.”

The win sets the Cats up well for the campaign but Dowling knows it’s just the beginning.

LISTEN: Kilkenny managers Mark Dowling (U20) and Niall Bergin (Minor)

“The fear was you didn’t really know how things were going with the team until you had a competitive fixture but’s its still only one game in a round-robin series and it’s only the first step so we’ll draw a line under the result straight away.”

On the injury front Fenians clubman Rory Garrett went off but Kilkenny are hopeful he’s ok.

“Rory seemed to just roll his ankle and the medics seem happy enough with him,” he added. “He seems fine and hopefully he will be ok for during the week.”

Hear more underage Kilkenny GAA coverage below: