Leinster SHC- Experimental Kilkenny well beaten away to Wexford

Kilkenny's unblemished Leinster Championship campaign ran in to it's first speed bump when they fell short against a Lee Chin inspired Wexford this afternoon.

Chin accounted for 1-13 of Wexford's overall tally as the home side held the aces against a Kilkenny team that were already assured of a place in next month's provincial final.

Wexford themselves had very little to play for given that they'd already being eliminated but on home soil, they were always going to be a tough nut to crack and with their talisman Chin firing on all cylinders, they ran out seven point winners in the end.

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Kilkenny made 10 changes in total for the game including Cian Kenny replacing captain John Donnelly before throw-in and while Kenny and TJ Reid did their utmost, it was a contest that the Cats never led in.

With the aid of a very strong breeze, the Model County quickly built up a sizeable advantage with Lee Chin scoring eight points in total during the opening half.

Kilkenny's tally in response was made up of Cian Kenny, TJ Reid, Luke Connellan and Billy Drennan and Derek Lyng wouldn't have been too disappointed as they trailed 0-12 to 0-5 at the change of ends.

A goal within four minutes of the resumption from Rory O'Connor very much put Wexford on the frontfoot and with Lee Chin continuing to score from all angles, the home team quickly built up a double digit lead.

Kilkenny kept plugging away and three points on the spin via Connellan, Kenny and Adrian Mullen briefly gave hope to a comeback but when Lee Chin blasted in a 60th minute goal, the points were very much in the bag for Keith Rossiter's outfit.

The visitors finished the game the better and also netted a stoppage time goal when TJ Reid shot past Mark Fanning but the business was already done as Wexford ended their year with a 2-19 to 1-15 success.

Kilkenny on the other hand have much bigger prizes on the horizon with a Leinster Final date against Galway in a  fortnight's time.

Teams and Scorers

Kilkenny: TJ Reid (1-4, 2fs and 2 '65's); Cian Kenny (0-3); Luke Connellan (0-2); Adrian Mullen, Killian Doyle, Fionan Mackessy, Billy Drennan, Richie Reid, Stephen Donnelly (0-1 each)

Wexford: Lee Chin (1-13, 9fs); Rory O'Connor (1-1), Simon Donohoe, Conor Hearne, Jack O'Connor, Mikie Dwyer, Conor McDonald (0-1 each)

Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Peter Connellan, Padraic Moylan, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Adrian Mullen, Zach Bay Hammond; Killian Doyle, Peter McDonald; Luke Connellan, Cian Kenny, Fionan Mackessy; Billy Drennan, TJ Reid, Owen Wall.

Subs: Stephen Donnelly for McDonald, 44 mins; Gearoid Dunne for Wall, 49 mins; Richie Reid for Bay Hammond, 59 mins; Niall Shortall for Drennan, 66 mins; Shane Staunton for Mullen, 68 mins.

Wexford: Mark Fanning; Cian Molloy, Simon Donohoe, Conor Foley; Eoin Ryan, Damien Reck, Darragh Carley; Conor Hearne, Corey Byrne Dunbar; Jack O'Connor, Lee Chin, Rory O'Connor; Kevin Foley, Mikie Dwyer, Cian Byrne.

Subs: Niall Murphy for Reck, 30 mins; Cathal Dunbar for Dwyer, 50 mins; Conor McDonald for Byrne, 55 mins; Darren Codd for J O'Connor, 67 mins; Charlie McGuckin for Molloy, 69 mins.

Referee: Sean Stack (Dublin)

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