Wexford stop Kilkenny from securing perfect run, Davy Fitzgerald's Antrim relegated

WEXFORD ENDED KILKENNY’S hopes of a perfect qualifying run with a 2-19 to 1-15 win at Chadwicks Wexford Park today.

It was a tight opening with each side registering 0-3 after 10 minutes.

However, Wexford scored nine of the next 10 points to earn the hosts a 0-12 to 0-5 half-time lead.

Kilkenny had the wind advantage in the second half, but an early Rory O’Connor goal gave his side further breathing space.

The visitors continued to look second best thereafter, and Lee Chin’s goal with 11 minutes remaining all but sealed a victory for Keith Rossiter’s side.

Kilkenny continued to fight, and a late TJ Reid goal reduced the deficit to eight points, but Derek Lyng’s men never seriously threatened a comeback.

The impressive Chin, contributed more than half of his side’s points and finished with 1-13. Reid was Kilkenny’s top scorer with 1-4.

Elsewhere, Offaly beat Antrim 3-15 to 1-16 at Glenisk O’Connor Park.

The result saw the visitors relegated from the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Davy Fitzgerald’s side had their work cut out for them after Niall O’Connor received a straight red card in the seventh minute for a stamp on Charlie Mitchell.

By that stage, the hosts were already boosted by an early Brian Duignan goal, and Dan Ravenhill then found the net from a penalty to give his side a 2-1 to 0-4 advantage in the early stages.

Antrim showed resilience in adversity, however, and a couple of points from James McNaughton helped them draw level just before the half-hour mark.

Offaly, though, finished the half strongly to secure a 2-9 to 0-11 lead at the break.

The influential Duignan continued to impress in the second half as he contributed three scores early on to help Offaly move six points clear of their rivals.

Three successive points from McNaughton gave Antrim hope, and the county’s star performer also hit a goal to cut their rivals’ lead to just a single point.

But Offaly responded well to that setback, with Killian Sampson’s goal coming just two minutes after they conceded.

Duignan added another point from a free in the dying stages as his side saw out a hard-fought victory.