Defending champions Dublin lost their provincial crown when going under by 1-11 to 1-20 to a fired-up Kilkenny side in a heartwarming Leinster U21HC semi-final tie at Parnell Park. The Cats signalled their intention to oust the title holders by racing into a five point lead after just six minutes with Colin Fennelly, Nicky Cleere, Paddy Hogan and Richie Hogan all getting on the scoresheet. Dublin got up and running in the 8th minute courtesy of a Paul Ryan strike but disaster then struck for the hosts when Richie Hogan showed his speed and then skill to rifle the ball into the corner of the Dublin net. Although ace freetaker Kevin O'Reilly added a brace of points to Dublin's tally thereafter, Kilkenny stretched their legs and they extended their lead with points from Fennelly, Mulhall and Richie Hogan to leave the Cats ahead by 1-12 to 0-5 at the interval. Richie Hogan continued to inflict more pain on the Dubs after the restart and by the three-quarter hour mark, Dublin trailed by 0-7 to 1-18. To their credit, Dublin rallied in the closing quarter with a goal by Declan O'Dwyer putting a fairer look on the scoreboard. Kilkenny - C McGrath, P Murphy, K Joyce, E O'Shea, N Prendergast, P Hogan 0-1, L Ryan, J Dowling, N Walsh 0-1, C Fennelly 0-3, TJ Reid, J Mulhall 0-1, M Ruth 0-1, N Cleere 0-3, R Hogan 1-10. Subs - JJ Farrell for Mulhall, M Bergin for Ruth. Dublin - F McGarry, P Schutte, T Brady, R Drumgoole, O Gough, J Boland, P Kelly, S Lambert, J McCaffrey, P Garbutt, Ross O'Carroll 0-2, J Maher, P Ryan 0-2, D O'Dwyer 1-0, K O'Reilly 0-5. Subs - D Treacy for Garbutt, S Durkin 0-2 for Maher, C McBride for Lambert, Rory O'Carroll for Kelly. Ref - J Owens (Wexford). Tweet

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