Kilkenny and Galway will contest the Walsh Cup final
Adam Price and John Power (right)
Kilkenny and Galway will contest the Bord na Mona Walsh Cup final after semi-final wins over Westmeath and Laois respectively this afternoon, while Offaly claimed Walsh Shield honours.
At Castlecomer, Kilkenny finished strongly to register a 1-23 to 1-16 win over the Lake County. The youthful Cats side raced into a 0-6 to 0-0 lead early on, and extended their advantage to 0-11 to 0-1.
Westmeath rallied with Brendan Murtagh scoring four first half points, but the hosts led by 0-14 to 0-6 at the break.
John Power registered Kilkenny's only goal on the restart from a tight angle, with the hosts building up to a 1-18 to 0-13 lead. The visitors breached the Kilkenny goal for the only time in the 59th minute, cutting the deficit to four points.
Although just two points separated the sides with seven minutes remaining, Brian Hanley's charges failed to build on this as Kilkenny sent over five unanswered points to ensure a seven-point victory.
At Ballinasloe, Galway always looked in control as they claimed a 2-19 to 0-11 victory in the other semi-final.
Joe Canning fired over six first half points from frees as the Tribesmen led by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break.
The hosts continued to impress on the restart, with James Regan and Canning bagging a goal each as Anthony Cunningham's charges established a 2-12 to 0-7 advantage.
Galway failed to ease up, outscoring Laois by seven points to four in the closing stages to claim a place in next weekend's decider.
Meanwhile, Offaly dug deep in extra-time to take the Walsh Shield title on a 0-22 to 1-14 scoreline at O'Connor Park in Tullamore.
The hosts forced extra-time through a Joe Bergin score at 0-15 to 1-12.
Offaly led by 0-2 to 0-1 in the opening stages, but the only goal of the contest had DIT in the lead for much of the opening half. The students led by 1-6 to 0-8 at half-time in normal time, and opened up a three-point lead on the restart.
However, Offaly battled back to force extra-time, with Ollie Baker's charges outscoring Marty McKenna's side by seven points to two during extra-time.
Kevin Nimmo bagged a hat-trick of goals for St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra as they registered a 5-16 to 1-16 win over Meath in a one-sided Kehoe Cup semi-final.
The students led by 3-6 to 1-8 at half-time in Navan, with Canice Maher and Tom Breen claiming their other goals. They face GMIT in the decider.
Meanwhile, the hurlers of Armagh advanced to a Kehoe Shield final meeting with Fingal following a 4-9 to 3-6 victory over Roscommon at Athleague.
