St Pat's Ballyraggett (Kilkenny) 0-21
Ballyfin (Laois) 1-7

St Patrick's Ballyragget had minimal fuss in recording a sixth Leinster junior hurling championship triumph in-a-row for Kilkenny yesterday when they saw off Ballyfin of Laois with 11 points to spare at O'Moore Park.

Joe Brennan settled the winners in with three early points which saw them into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead before Ballyfin struck a badly needed goal through a 21-yard free from JJ McHugh, which hauled them back into contention.

However, the Kilkenny champions' scoring prowess proved too much to cope with for the hosts, as they moved into a commanding 0-11 to 1-2 lead by the interval.

In the second-half, Kevin Kelly, who finished with 0-9, sent over three early points to stretch the advantage before the Laois men would grab their first point from play in the 47th minute via Sean Lowry. It sparked four points on the trot from Ballyfin, but they'd still finish 11 short come the long whistle.

Scorers - Ballyraggett: K Kelly 0-9 (8f), J Brennan 0-6 (1f), B Staunton 0-3, J Phelan 0-2, S Mooney 0-1 Ballyfin: JJ McHugh 1-2 (1-2f), S Lowry(1f), G Lanham 0-2 each, L Duff 0-1.

St Pat's Ballyraggett: M Gannon; J Mooney, J Morrissey, S Staunton; K Delaney, G Brennan, S Roberts; B Phelan, J Gannon; J Phelan, S Kenny, K Kelly; M Brennan, B Staunton, J Brennan. Subs: C Delaney for G Brennan (42), P Cahill for J Mooney (48), S Mooney for Kenny (56), A Ruth for S Mooney (62)

Ballyfin: N Keenan; J Downey, E Dunphy, P Dunphy; R Downey, J Horan, C Dunne; S Lowry, D McGill; G Lanham, JJ McHugh, J Finn; M Duff, R Quillinan, C Fingleton. Subs: C Dowling for Fingleton (h-t), L Duff for Horan (39), E Duff for Dowling (56).

Ref: P O'Dwyer (Carlow) Tweet

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