Wicklow 3-25 Kilkenny 1-1:JOE KELLY was the man of the moment as his haul of 1-7 helped Wicklow open their campaign with a emphatic win.

Wicklow were in commanding form by half-time in Freshford on yesterday, leading by 3-11 to 1-1. James Culleton grabbed Kilkenny’s goal on the half hour, but goals from Kelly, Seán Furlong and Leighton Glynn ensured Wicklow were already on their way to the points.

WICKLOW: J Flynn; C Hyland, N Gaffney, D Healy; B Murphy, R Finn, A Byrne; J Stafford, P Burke; N Mernagh (0-1), A O’Malley (0-2), J Kelly (1-7); D O’Sullivan (0-2), S Furlong (1-5), L Glynn (1-1). Subs: C Rossiter for D Healy, A Merriman (0-2) for P Burke, M Doyle for N Mernagh, T Hannon (0-4) for A O’Malley, P Cronin (0-1) for D O’Sullivan.

KILKENNY: JJ O’Sullivan; D Fitzpatrick, D Grennan, JJ Grace; DB Kehoe, R O’Hara, J Cullinane; M Malone, JJ Dunphy; P McBride, B Byrne, S Duggan; J Dollard, J Culleton (1-0), R Shore (0-1). Subs: R O’Keeffe for P McBride, J Fennelly for R Shore, K Bergin for B Kehoe, P Donnelly for J Dollard.

Referee: N Ward (Westmeath).