Kilkenny 2-22 Offaly 1-13KILKENNY waltzed to a very easy and impressive 2-22 to 1-13 win over Offaly in a one-sided semi-final in Tullamore yesterday.
Offaly were competitive for much of the first half but once Kilkenny found top gear in the second half, there was no disputing their superiority.
Once Kilkenny found their momentum, they scored quality score after quality score from a variety of distances and angles.
Playing against the wind in the first half, Kilkenny were still the better team.
A Ger Aylward goal put them in the driving seat and they put the pedal to the floor as they led by 1-10 to 0-5 four minutes from the break.
Offaly rallied and four unanswered points kept them in the hunt as they trailed 1-10 to 0-9 at the break.
After the interval Kilkenny piled on the scores, with John Power netting their second goal nine minutes from time, while Brendan Murphy got a late consolation goal for Offaly.
SCORERS: Kilkenny– J Power 1-4, three frees, 65; G Aylward 1-2; K Kelly 0-4; C Buckley, P Walsh 0-3 each; O Walsh, T O'Hanrahan 0-2 each; M Brennan, D Waugh 0-1 each. Offaly– S Quirke 0-7, five frees; B Murphy 1-1, frees. P Murphy, T O'Carroll, S McKelvey, A Kelly, A Hynes 0-1 each.
Dublin 1-16 Wexford 1-15
DUBLIN required an injury-time point from Glenn Whelan to seal a fortunate 1-16 to 1-15 victory over Wexford in their semi-final at Parnell Park on Saturday.
Wexford started brightly with a well-worked Gary Moore goal on 10 minutes. Dublin stayed in contention largely through placed balls from John Hetherton and Dean Flood but Wexford still led 1-8 to 0-7 at the interval.
Dublin stayed in touch but Wexford, with points from Moore and Diarmuid O’Keeffe, led by four points with just two minutes left.
A goal and a point by Hetherton from placed balls put Dublin level before Whelan sealed their berth in next Sunday's provincial final.
Dublin: J Hetherton 1-4 (all frees), D Flood 0-6 (five frees) , G Whelan 0-2, C Kilkenny 0-2, F Heavey 0-1, D Forde 0-1.
Wexford: G Moore 1-5 (four frees), I Byrne 0-6 (three frees, 65), D OKeeffe 0-2, C Hughes 0-1, S Barron 0-1.
