Kilkenny will take on Dublin in the O’Neills.com Leinster Under-20 Hurling Final next Wednesday evening at 7.35pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.
The Cats secured their place in the decider with an impressive 0-26 to 1-9 victory over Laois in Tuesday night’s semi-final, also held in Portlaoise. Meanwhile, Dublin saw off Galway in the other semi-final, winning 2-18 to 0-17 in Tullamore.
Kilkenny led Laois by three points at half-time before pulling away in the second half. Speaking to Brendan Hennessy on commentary after the game, manager Mark Dowling reflected on the conditions and the team’s performance:
“It was a tricky enough breeze there in the first half, and we did opt to play against it. It wasn’t a straightforward breeze — it was kind of going across and swirling a bit, so it made shooting difficult. We just discussed it before the match. But what pleased me most was that bit of sticking power when the goal came in for them and the home crowd got going. It’s not simple — sometimes it can make you question what you’re doing or change it. But at half-time we felt a few small adjustments could make a big difference, and it turned out that way.”
Dowling also welcomed the quick turnaround before the final, adding:
“We waited five and a half weeks for this, so we’ll take a match next week.”
KCLR will broadcast the Leinster U20 Final live from O’Moore Park next Wednesday evening.
Elsewhere, in Munster, Tipperary were crowned champions after defeating Clare in the provincial final, 3-19 to 1-20.
