Kilkenny junior hurling champions were too strong for annaghdown

TAKEN at face value, a 16-point margin of defeat may suggest Annaghdown were overcome with relative ease by Bennettsbridge in last Sunday’s All-Ireland Junior Club hurling semi-final. In reality, they were anything but. The Galway and Connacht champions performed well for long spells, even held a deserved lead into the second half and posed serious questions of a highly-rated Kilkenny team that went in as overwhelming favourites.
The class of Bennettsbridge eventually shone through in a second half they almost totally dominated and a late avalanche of scores helped them run out emphatic winners.
They are a serious outfit, a cut above everything else at the grade and although Manchester’s Fullen Gaels, their opponents in next month’s All-Ireland final, have impressive form in the book Bennettsbridge’s coronation as the premier Junior club in the country should be a mere formality.