Kilkenny have booked their spot in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final after a dramatic 5-19 to 3-21 victory over Dublin at UPMC Nowlan Park.
The Cats led by 14 points at halftime and extended that lead to 16 early in the second half, but Dublin mounted a spirited comeback, narrowing the gap to just two points with a minute of normal time remaining. A late goal from Billy Ryan, his second of the match, secured the win for Kilkenny.
TJ Reid top-scored with 1-09, while Ryan contributed 2-02. Martin Keoghan and Adrian Mullen also found the net for Kilkenny.
Speaking to KCLR after the match, Cats manager Derek Lyng spoke to KCLR about how his team responded to Dublin’s second half comeback.
“We saw what they are capable of in the second half, but I will give our players alot of credit. They withstood that. They worked a couple of scores, got a good few frees and we got a goal. It is not easy do that when momentum is against you.”
Kilkenny will now prepare for the Leinster final on June 8 with a trip to Wexford in between next Sunday. That game will be live on KCLR. While Dublin and Galway will battle it out to see who will join Kilkenny in this year’s Leinster hurling final.
