Senior hurlers advance to Leinster SHC semi-final

Sun, 22nd May 2016

DUBLIN 2-19 WEXFORD 0-12

Dublin's senior hurlers jumped the hurdle of Wexford with plenty to spare in Saturday night's Leinster SHC quarter-final at Croke Park in front of an attendance of 13,066.

The Dubs now face opposition of a different class when they meet Kilkenny on Saturday, June 11 in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise.

First half goals from Eamonn Dillon and Darragh O'Connell put Ger Cunningham's men on the road to victory and they never looked in any great trouble in the second period.

Dublin led 2-10 to 0-8 at the break with Eamonn Dillon's excellent 17th minute goal filling his side with confidence.

Darragh O'Connell secured the second goal, shortly before half-time, following good work by Mark Schutte and overall it was a good night for the Dublin attack with 11 different players including Niall McMorrow* clipping four points from play and three subs also getting on the scoresheet as Dublin outscored their opposition 2-6 to 0-3 from the 15th minute on of the opening half.

*Niall McMorrow received the Man of the Match honour for his fine display.

Dublin defence also stood strong with the imposing half-back line of Shane Barrett, Liam Rushe and Chris Crummey quelling the Wexford attack who depended too much on Conor McDonald and Liam McGovern for inspiration.

The Slaneysiders restarted the second half better with a flurry of early points but their comeback was short-lived as they failed to score from the 52nd minute onward as Dublin ran out comprehensive winners as David Treacy's deadball accuracy kept the scoreboard ticking over to the finish.

SCORERS - Dublin: D Treacy 0-8 (0-7f, 0-1 '65'), N McMorrow 0-4; E Dillon, D O'Connell 1-0 each; J McCaffrey, D Plunkett, M Schutte, D O'Callaghan, R O'Dwyer, C Bennett, P Ryan 0-1 each. Wexford: C McDonald 0-6 (0-4f), L McGovern 0-4, E Moore (0-1 '65'), H Kehoe 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: C Dooley; E O'Donnell, C O'Callaghan, O Gough; S Barrett, L Rushe, C Crummey; D O'Connell, J McCaffrey; D Plunkett, N McMorrow, D Treacy; M Schutte, D O'Callaghan, E Dillon. Subs: R O'Dwyer for O'Connell (57), C Bennett for M Schutte (60), P Schutte for McCaffrey (69), O O'Rourke for O'Callaghan (70), P Ryan for Dillon (71).

WEXFORD: C. O'Leary; L Ryan, M O'Hanlon, E Moore; D O'Keeffe, P Foley, J O'Connor; E Conroy, A Kenny; L McGovern, P Doran, H Kehoe; P Morris, C McDonald, D Dunne. Subs: C Dunbar for Kenny (h/t), I Byrne for Morris (47), E Martin for Moore (66).

REF: F Horgan (Tipperary).