McDonald is hero as Models land Leinster title hat-trick
CONOR McDONALD bagged 1-10 as Wexford hammered Kilkenny by 17 points to secure a hat-trick of Leinster Under 21 Hurling Championship titles in Wexford Park last night. McDonald (left) fired 1-3 from play in a man-of-thematch display as the Model County put recent senior disappointments behind them to emulate their U21 side of the late 70s in winning three provincial crowns on the trot.
WEXFORD hurling may have suffered in recent weeks, but the Models bounced back with a scintillating display to claim their third Leinster Under 21 title in a row thanks to a stunning victory over arch-rivals Kilkenny at Innovate Wexford Park.
Wexford were bidding for a hattrick of titles for only the second time since the competition’s inception. Last recorded in 1969-71, they went on to lose all three of those All-Ireland finals to Cork.
And, in front of 7,800 spectators, they got off to a sluggish start here as they were hit with a Kilkenny scoring blitz inside the opening 90 seconds.
Kilkenny grabbed the initiative from the throw-in as Liam Hickey drove through the centre. His initial attempt was partially blocked, but he recovered to beat goalkeeper Oliver O’Leary with a low shot before William Brennan followed with a point, giving them a 1-1 to 0-0 lead, a minute later.
Wexford were finding it difficult to settle during this opening spell as Kilkenny were firing forward at every opportunity.
It took a Conor McDonald thirdminute pointed free to settle the home side, although Liam Blanchfield responded with a Kilkenny point straight from the puck-out.
However, urged on by the large crowd, Wexford suddenly sprang to life with a glorious 25 minutes of hurling.
The basic skills were there, and their marquee forward, McDonald, began to take the game to the Kilkenny defence.
Points flowed from Kevin Foley and Jack O’Connor, with a huge effort from inside his own half, while full-forward McDonald was on fire, sending over two more points.
Many felt this was always going to be a tricky assignment for the home side, but the all-important breakthrough came as the Kilkenny defence finally wilted under enormous pressure.
McDonald was the key man again as he collected a long Paudie Foley ball to find the net with a splendid finish, having shortened his grip as he moved in on goal, leaving his side with a 1-6 to 1-2 lead after 17 minutes.
Kilkenny were now finding it difficult to win possession, and in a three-minute spell they were further rocked when Wexford struck for goals — James Cash and Cathal Dunbar on 20 and 23 minutes respectively — which helped them to a 3-8 to 1-4 interval lead.
Wexford would have been unbackable at half-time, and they justified such optimism on the resumption as they continued to dominate their arch rivals with a scintillating display of hurling.
For their part Kilkenny gave their all, but they were outhurled all over the pitch by a Wexford side determined to put recent hurling disappointments at senior level behind them.
It was suggested in the lead-up to this game that Wexford could suffer as a result of heavy defeats to Kilkenny in Leinster and Cork in the qualifiers, but such fears proved unfounded as they played some of the best hurling seen in this grade for some time.
McDonald and Martin exchanged opening-half points, but in the 33rd minute any hope of a Kilkenny revival was well and truly buried. A Wexford moved opened the Kilkenny defence as James Cash placed a delightful ball across the face of the goal for corner-forward Cathal Dunbar to find the net from close in, giving the home side a 4-9 to 1-5 lead.
Kilkenny kept battling but they were unable to break down a dominant home defence and could only manage four points for the r emainder of t he game as man of the match McDonald continued to inspire his side with s pl endid points both f r om play and frees from a variety of angles.