Cork secure promotion to Division 1A (roundup)

Cork 2-24 Wexford 1-20 / Laois 1-13 Limerick 1-17 / Offaly 5-27 Antrim 4-9

Patrick Horgan scored 1-10 as Cork secured promotion to Division 1A of the Allianz Hurling League by virtue of a 2-24 to 1-20 win over Wexford at Páirc Uí Rinn.

Conor Lehane weighed in with 1-3, while Seamus Harnedy landed five points from play and Alan Cadogan caught the eye with three points off the bench in the second half.

It was fair from plain sailing for the Rebels though, as they led by just a point entering the final quarter, before showing their class to pull away in the closing stages.

The visitors got off to a good start courtesy of Jack Guiney’s eighth minute goal but with Anthony Nash not being called forward for a 20m free, Horgan found the net from the placed ball.

Lehane provided the finishing touch after a goalmouth scramble not long after and it was Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s side that led at the change of ends, 2-10 to 1-8.

Paul Morris, who finished with 10 points, and Diarmuid O’Keeffe were prominent as Wexford turned a seven-point deficit to one entering the final quarter but Horgan, Cadogan and Paul Haughney enabled Cork to pull away. Bobby Kenny was sent off late on for Wexford.

Limerick were made to dig very deep by Laois before chiselling out a 1-17 to 1-13 win at O’Moore Park.

The Shannonsiders did not lead until substitute Shane Dowling found the Laois net with a ground shot in the 62nd minute and a tiring Laois could not find a way back.

The hosts led by 1-9 to 0-5 at half time and were in no way flattered by that seven-point advantage as they shot nine wides in that period of dominance.

They will also rue two missed goal chances in the second half. Nickie Quaid made a smart save from Neil Foyle before the otherwise excellent John Purcell failed to find his even more outstanding team-mate, Tommy Fitzgerald with a simple hand-pass on the edge of the small parallelogram.

To give Limerick credit, they improved significantly in the second half, having been outbattled in that opening period.

Donal O’Grady came on at half time to add workrate to the Shannonsiders’ cause. Dowling was introduced 10 minutes later after Conor Allis had missed his third free and his accuracy from placed balls was almost important as the goal and he finished with 1-4 for his 28 minutes of action.

In the final Division 1B game, Offaly trounced Antrim by 5-27 to 4-9, although with the teams guaranteed to meet in a relegation play-off, regardless of the result, it’s hard to know how to read the encounter.

Offaly flew out of the traps with Ciaran Slevin goaling early. Sean Cleary added a second and though Nigel Elliott responded, the margin was 11 points mid-way through the opening period. It was 25 points by the interval as Cleary and Stephen Quirke (two) added further goals to make it 5-16 to 1-3.

PJ O’Connell helped himself to three goals as Antrim improved in the second half but it was a non-event at that juncture.