Kilkenny 1-28; Dublin 2-23
Tight games tell you a lot about a team’s psyche - in this instance at Parnell Park on Saturday evening, it ended up that Kilkenny didn’t know how to lose while the gallant Dubs just didn’t know how to win.
The two sides were level on no less than eight times and as the game kicked on, it looked like Dublin might win or even do-a-Carlow and share the spoils with the Leinster hurling giants.
Eoin Cody was starved of possession for large chunks of the game, yet had sniped three points before he struck with the deciding goal after winding his way through the host’s defense.
It puts the Cats in a strong position going forward while the Dubs must now go to Galway and get something if they are to qualify for further involvement.
This was a cracking contest played in front of 7,500 and in glorious weather conditions and with TJ Reid’s radar on the blink, Dublin will seldom have a better chance to beat their deadly rivals than in this encounter.
Kilkenny’s Owen Wall tackles John Bellew of Dublin in Saturday’s Leinster game at Parnell Park. [Inpho/Leah Scholes]
While the Cats face Wexford this coming weekend, the Dublin squad will head west to take on Galway and they need to cause an upset by winning if they are to advance into the All Ireland series.
You’d feel sorry for the likes of Donal Burke who scored fourteen points and still finished on the losing side and also for the goalscorers Conor Burke and Brian Hayes, who showed tremendous finishing ability to raise the green flags. Hayes was brought in and either scored or contributed to 2-3 while also suffering the agony of seeing Eoin Murphy produce a miracle save to deny him midway through the first half..
Burke’s goal kept Dublin in the hunt at the interval when they trailed by 0-16 to 1-12. The standard of hurling continued in the second half and when Hayes' goal put his side 2-20 to 0-23 in front, it was testament to the work put into the blueprint by the home side.
Three points down, Kilkenny looked rattled and missed frees by Reid underlined that fact. Still, they kept plugging away and when they found the range with a brace of points, you sensed they would magic up a goal out of somewhere too??
And Cody fulfilled that prophecy when he ghosted through the defense to bat the ball into the net.
Kilkenny: E Murphy; T Walsh, H Lawlor, M Butler; D Blanchfield (0-3), P Deegan, M Carey (0-1); S Murphy, C Kenny (0-2); T Phelan, TJ Reid (0-8, 0-7f); J Donnelly (0-7); M Keoghan (0-3), Eoin Cody (1-3), O Wall Subs: B Ryan (0-1) for Wall h/t, R Reid for S Murphy 42, C Fogarty for Phelan 59, C Buckley for Carey 69,
Dublin: S Brennan; J Bellew, E O'Donnell, P Smyth; C Crummey (0-3), C Donohoe, P Doyle; B Hayes (1-0), C Burke (1-1); D Sutcliffe (0-3), D Burke (0-14, 0-10f, 0-1 65), F Whitely; S Currie, C O'Sullivan (0-2), R Hayes Subs: Pl Crummey for O'Sullivan 44, D Power for Whitely 49, D Gray for Doyle 63, J Malone for Currie 65, D Purcell for R Hayes 69.
Ref: J Murphy (Limerick).
Leinster SH Championship
Kilkenny 1-28; Dublin 2-23
Galway 2-25; Antrim 1-14
Wexford 2-36; Carlow 1-13
Munster SH Round Robin Round 4
Clare 4-21; Waterford 2-26
Cork 4-30; Tipperary 1-21
