Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Antrim 3-20 Kilkenny 5-31

IT was a tough afternoon for Antrim at a sunny Corrigan Park on Sunday as Kilkenny ruthlessly put the Saffrons to the sword to make it a three-way split at the top of the table in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship round-robin.

Rank outsiders prior to throw-in, Antrim still made it far too easy for the Cats at times, enjoying some decent spells but small bursts simply don't cut it when challenging a team that would surprise nobody by winning Liam MacCarthy this year.

TJ Reid top-scored on the day with 2-10, usurping Martin Keoghan who bagged 3-3 with his hat-trick of majors coming before the break as the Antrim dam burst to leave them out of contention heading into the second period.

Yes, they showed some fighting heart when it could have been easier to accept their lot and found a pair of goals of their own in a purple patch after the break to get to within 10, but the damage had been done, despite posting a pretty healthy tally.

"I don't have any positive spins on that," said Antrim manager Darren Gleeson.

"It was very below par. First-half requirements: track your man, touch tight defending, put yourself on the line - it wasn't there.

"From one to fifteen, it wasn't at the level that you'd expect a team to be at. You should be seriously motivated when you get the opportunity to play a team like Kilkenny in your own house, but we came flat.

"We'll take a look at that and how we came in as a management team and try to get it right for two weeks' time (against Galway)."

Billy Ryan runs at the Antrim defence
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Billy Ryan runs at the Antrim defence

Kilkenny hadn't found the net in their opening two games in the competition but were quick to correct that stat as after TJ Reid pointed a free in the opening seconds, from the subsequent poc-out, Alan Murphy rose to fetch with the ball played inside and John Donnelly found Martin Keoghan for the first of his goals.

They didn't have long to wait for a second as after Keelan Molloy got Antrim on the board, Eoin Murphy's poc-out found Reid in an obscene amount of space and he was able to gallop through to blast home.

Yet Antrim responded well with a Paul Boyle point and then from a long delivery, Conor Johnston knocked down into the path of Molloy to race through and hit the roof of the net, pegging the gap to 2-2 to 1-2.

But Kilkenny then began to pull away with their touch and vision excellent as Antrim were now struggling to gain any traction, rattling off five points on the spin.

Adrian Mullen, Billy Ryan and Richie Reid all complimented TJ Reid and Keoghan, and while Antrim clipped over some of their own, the gap was widening and two goals in the space of a minute late in the half from Keoghan helped them into a 4-16 to 1-7 lead at the break. It could have been worse but for Antrim goalkeeper Ryan Elliott making some incredible saves.

In fairness, the hosts showed plenty of heart and enjoyed an excellent 10 minutes after the break, sparked by a goal for Conor Johnston two minutes in as he got onto a long delivery from Ryan McGarry to wriggle free and fire home, then Neil McManus did likewise with a hat-trick of points after seeing the gap down to 10.

Keelan Molloy celebrates his first-half goal for Antrim
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Keelan Molloy celebrates his first-half goal for Antrim

That would be as close as they would get as Kilkenny upped it a gear with Reid, Walter Walsh and Keoghan on target, while Eoin Cody got in on the act for the day.

Antrim stuck to the task and picked off some nice scores through Niall McKenna and James McNaughton, but the game was long since decided with Kilkenny's fifth goal coming on 67 minutes as Cody passed inside to TJ Reid who whipped to the net.

He and Cody would add points to put a gloss on their afternoon and while Cunning and Paul Boyle closed out with late points for Antrim, victory was Kilkenny's who are now in a three-way tie at the top with Galway and Dublin heading into the break.

"It went 2-11 to 1-6 and we were thinking 'keep it tight' as there was an advantage with the wind," Gleeson said of the first half before things unravelled ahead of 'Mossy' Keoghan's two goals before the break.

"Keep it between five and eight points at half-time and then you've a fighting chance.

"Our flat spots are very poor. We'd a very bad flat spot before half-time, in the second half we had it and if it wasn't for Ryan (Elliott saves) it could have been a mauling. We missed a few chances, but were completely outclassed."

Keelan Molloy challenges Darragh Corcoran
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Keelan Molloy challenges Darragh Corcoran

The concession of the two second-half goals from long balls was very un-Kilkenny-like so there are elements Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng feels they need to work in with games against Dublin and Wexford still to come after the week off.

"We need to be better under those and to be fair to the lads, they usually are," he agreed.

"Maybe it was a case of tuning out but was just a bit sloppy from our end and that's something we'll have to look at.

"There is no element of surprise how difficult it was going to be for us as we were up here in the League earlier in the year and the last couple of times we've played Antrim, they've been close games and real battles," he said.

"Their results have been strong - the draw with Dublin - so we were ready for it, up for it and you have to be up here.

"There was selfless play, the work-rate was good and then we got into good positions. lads were happy to give the ball to someone in a good position so it's good to see that."

As for Antrim, three weeks of top-tier, hard-hitting action perhaps took its toll, but they will have some respite ahead of the trip to Galway in a fortnight.

The injuries continue to pile up with Neil McManus hobbling off with a hamstring problem that is the last thing they need with the treatment room now overcrowded including captain, Eoghan Campbell unable to play after being named to start.

The Saffrons are making progress in terms of bridging the gap on teams such as Dublin and Wexford, but on Sunday, they were in against a team that was able to spring household names off the bench and proved there is a long road ahead.

Still, their ambitions remain high and there is no other option but to keep grafting.

"We're not going to beat Kilkenny in the eyes of the public, but we build ourselves up to try and be equals of them," Gleeson stressed.

"We train like them and have a set-up like them, but their (Kilkenny's) depth of the squad is unbelievable. You see All-Ireland winners, Allstars and Hurlers of the Year coming off the bench, whereas we're trying to put four young kids into it - two starting today (Paul Boyle and Rian McMullan) and two coming off the bench (Caolan McKernan and Seamus McAuley). We have to do that and they have the luxury of those players to come in and finish.

"We'd like to see ourselves up at that level, but we need to stay with it and strengthen our squad. We had a bad run of injuries and that's not an excuse, but we have to find out why we're having this run of injuries as I don't think any other county is having the losses we have."

ANTRIM: R Elliott; P Burke, R McGarry, N O'Connor; G Walsh (0-1), M Bradley, C Bohill; P Boyle (0-2), J McNaughton (0-2); K Molloy (1-2), C Cunning (0-8, 6 frees, 1 65), N McKenna (0-4); C Johnston (1-0), N McManus (1-1), R McMullan.
Subs: S Rooney for M Bradley (34), E O'Neill for R McMullan (53), D Nugent for N McManus (53), C McKernan for G Walsh (58), S McAuley for K Molloy (64)

KILKENNY: E Murphy (0-1 free); M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; D Blanchfield (0-1), R Reid (0-1), D Corcoran; A Mullen (0-2), A Murphy (0-3); T Phelan (0-1), J Donnelly, B Ryan (0-4); M Keoghan (3-3), TJ Reid (2-10, 0-6 frees, 0-2 65s), E Cody (0-2)
Subs: P Walsh for T Walsh (42), C Buckley (0-1) for A Murphy (48), W Walsh (0-2) for T Phelan (54), R Hogan for A Mullen (60), N Brennan for M Keoghan (64)

REFEREE: Shane Hayes (Galway)