18-05-2025
Kilkenny v Dublin recap of cracking Leinster Hurling Championship clash
Kilkenny have all but booked their place in the Leinster Hurling final having edged past Dublin in a game that was the epitome of the old cliché 'a game of two halves.'
The Cats bossed proceedings in the first-half and dominated at Nowlan Park as they looked to keep their longstanding unbeaten Championship record alive.
They looked well on their way to doing so when they raced into a 14-point lead by the end of the half. Goals from Adrien Mullen. Billy Ryan, Martin Keoghan and TJ Reid - as well as some frees from Reid - seemingly had the game wrapped up by the break.
Dublin had other ideas and after a wretched first-half, they showed their true quality in the second. They slowly but surely fought their way back into the game, having fallen 16 points behind at one stage, before Sean Currie started the comeback with a fine goal.
A string of points had the deficit cut to 11, but a quickfire double from Currie and then the excellent Cian O'Sullivan reduced the gap to just five points.
With the game well and truly in the melting pot, points from Chris Crummey and Conor Donohoe made it a one-score game. The sides traded points in the final 10 minutes, but the comeback looked to be almost completed when AJ Murphy fired over two points in the space of a minute having been introduced as a substitute.
But just when it looked like it was on the cards, Billy Ryan fired home to stretch the lead to five and secure what turned out to be an unbelievably hard-fought win for Kilkenny.
