Leinster U17 Hurling Championship
Antrim 1-14 Kildare 0-5
Antrim minor hurlers booked a quarter final spot against Offaly next weekend when the beat Kildare in Saturday’s Leinster Minor Hurling Championship last sixteen game in Dundalk.
The young Saffrons dominated the opening half and boosted by a goal from Orrin O’Connor they led by 1-8 to 0-3 at half time. The second half saw that dominance continue and with Jack McCloskey hitting 0-5, Patrick McIwaine 0-3 and Cormac McKeown 0-2 they pushed on to win with a bit to spare, their rock solid defence holding the Lilly Whites to just two points in that second half.
Kildare looked very dangerous in the opening minutes with their right half forward Ryan Sinkey standing out as he hit two early points in the 1st and 3rd minutes. Cormac McKeown opened the Antrim scoring after a great run from Joseph McLaughlin in the fourth minute, but Kildare restored their two point lead on six minutes when full forward Theo Frisby pointed a close range free.
The Saffrons appeared to be up against it, but the defence started to get to grips with their opponents and incredibly they held them scoreless for the remainder of the opening half. At the other end the forwards set about clawing back the deficit and it was just on the quarter hour mark that they got their noses in front with points from Patrick McIlwaine, Lorcan Phillips and Joe McLaughlin.
Things were starting to flow now and the stretched their lead to four with a point from Cormac McKeown and two in a row from distance by midfielder Patrick McIlwaine to lead 0-7 to 0-3. The pressure was mounting on the Kildare defence and on 24 minutes the Saffrons made the breakthrough corner forward Orrin O’Connor pounced on a ball that broke around the ‘square’ and fired to the net and just on half time Jack McCloskey sent over his first free of the game to give his side a 1-8 to 0-3 lead at the break.
Two more from McCloskey in the 38th and 39th minutes stretched the Antrim lead to ten, before Kildare got their first score of the second half with a point from substitute Oisin Loughran. That score was cancelled out a minute later when Antrim full forward Lorchan Phillips sent one over at the other end before Jack McCloksey hit three in a row, one from a free, one from a 65 and a real beauty from play to seal a convincing win.
So it is back to Dundalk again next weekend to take on Offaly as the Safrons adventure takes another step forward
Antrim: J McNaughton, P Patterson, C Devlin, C McAlister, M McGibbon, A McGarry capt, L Glackin, P McIlwaine 0-3, D Kelly, J McLaughlin 0-2, D Patterson, C McKeown 0-2, O O’Connor 1-0, L Phillips 0-1, J McCloskey 0-5.Subs: N Magee 0-1 for J McLaughlin, K O’Boyle forL Phillips, B McGarry for D Patterson, C Rainey for L Glackin.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW
