Leinster Minor Hurling Championship – Tier 2
Antrim 2-22 Wicklow 1-08 at Dowdalshill, Dundalk
A strong second half saw Antrim run out convincing winners again Wicklow in Tier 2 of the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship at Dowdalshill, Dundalk on Saturday.
A poor first half which saw them struggle for long periods, while playing into a stiff breeze saw them turn around with just a one point lead, but after the change of ends they really got going and despite being a man short, they outscored Wicklow by 2-14 to 1-01, the Wicklow goal coming with practically the last poc of the game.
Dylan McNaughton gave Antrim an early lead in the opening minute, but Wicklow came back with four in a row, one from Conor Rowlan and three from the excellent centre forward Tom Brennan.
Right half forward Ronan Taylor got Antirm going again with a point in the tenth minute and six more followed without reply and James McDonnell James McDonnell added three, Jay McAlonan one and Canice McIntosh one to put them 0-8 to 0-4 ahead, though Wicklow had the last three scores of the half as Brennan added two and Conor Bolan one to close to within one at the break. (Antrim 0-08 Wicklow 0-07)
The second half turned out to be one way traffic as the young Saffrons took complete control, holding Wicklow to just two scores. James McDonnell, Dylan McNaughton and Sean Smyth all added points before Nicholas McLaughlin grabbed a goal in the 36th minute. Eleven points followed without reply before Sean Smyth fired in Antrim’s second goal in the 53rd minute. Tiernan Pierce got Wicklow’s first point of the half a minute later, and after James McDonnell came back with two for Antrim the game ended with Wicklow scoring a late goal.
Next weekend they face a much tougher challenge when they take on table toppers Westmeath in Mullingar. A long journey for a game that starts at 12 noon so the north Antrim boys would need to be on the road very early. However these are the kind of obstacles you face when playing in Leinster and the Antrim lads will certainly be looking forward to the challenge.
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