Galway deny Offaly late on as Cats crush Laois in Leinster U20HC

Galway's Aaron Niland with Billy McDermott and Ed Lauhoff of Kilkenny ©INPHO/Evan Treacy

Galway came from five points down late on to snatch a 0-15 to 1-12 draw against Offaly in Tier 1 of the Leinster U20 hurling championship.

Darren Shaughnessy’s goal saw the visitors edge a 1-5 to 0-7 lead at the half before Barry Egan and Adam Screeney fired the Faithful County towards a 0-15 to 1-7 advantage with nine minutes left.

However, after dodging a nail in their coffin with Dan Ravenhill’s missed penalty, Galway pucked over the last five scores at the other end.

Rory Burke leveller late on leaves Galway needing a win over Dublin by more than a one-point margin for a place in the semi-finals, while Offaly are through to the competition’s quarter-finals.

In Portlaoise, Gearoid Dunne fired a hat-trick of goals as Kilkenny defeated Laois by 6-14 to 1-13 which sees the Cats through to the last four and the O’Moore County needing a win against Wexford next weekend in order to progress.

In Tier 2, Kildare crushed Kerry on a 4-15 to 0-6 scoreline in Hawkfield, where James Dolan netted three times, while Patrick Jordan’s second-half goal helped Meath to a 1-16 to 1-10 win over Derry in Navan.