Kilkenny to defend title after edging past London

FINAL AGAIN: Kilkenny will face New York in a repeat of last year's All-Ireland JFC final.  ©INPHO/Ben Brady

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship semi-final

Kilkenny 1-13 London 0-15

Kilkenny will challenge for All-Ireland football and hurling titles on consecutive Sundays at Croke Park after holding firm to secure their JFC final spot.

A strong first-half performance laid the platform for Christy Walsh's Cats to push on for a place in Sunday's final against New York.

It will be a repeat of last year's final, which Kilkenny won, though former hurlers Paul Murphy and Ciaran Wallace are notable absentees this season.

Kilkenny still had enough to see off London with new addition James Carroll firing five points while Kevin Blanchfield's 50th minute goal set the seal on victory.

That strike left Kilkenny four points clear though London pushed them all the way with late scores from Thomas Waters, top scorer Connor Spinks and Shay Rafter.

London came into the contest hoping for an upturn in fortunes after losing last month's All-Britain final to Warwickshire after extra-time.

But they were under pressure from the off in a high quality encounter that immediately looked a cut above the opening semi-final.

Kilkenny had 10 starters from last year's final win but it was Carroll, a new addition, who stood out in the opening half.

The Bennettsbridge man fired all of his five points from play in that half hour or so while Jim Culleton impressed with back to back scores.

Joint captain Mick Kenny and Mick Malone, who struck 3-7 between them in last season's corresponding semi-final fixture, both got on the scoresheet again too.

But it wasn't all one-way traffic and London consistently punished indiscipline in the Kilkenny defence with scores from free-takers Spinks and Rafter.

Christopher Griffin nailed a tidy score for the Stephen Lynch managed outfit too though it was Kilkenny that hit the interval 0-12 to 0-8 ahead.

London dominated the third quarter and coped better in the deteriorating conditions as rain swept in on the crosswind.

Points from Ryan McCready and Spinks cut the gap to just a point, 0-13 to 0-12.

Blanchfield's goal 10 minutes from time settled Kilkenny and gave them a vital cushion as London pushed hard to rescue a result.

There was some confusion about the identity of the goalscorer as Carroll hammered the ball to the net after Blanchfield's initial effort rebounded out though it appeared to have crossed the line already.

Malone and sub Rory Monks also had goal chances for Kilkenny who might have made life easier on themselves late on.

Scorers for Kilkenny: J Carroll (0-5); K Blanchfield (1-0); J Holohan (0-3); J Culleton (0-2); M Kenny (1 free), R McCready, T Waters (0-1).

Scorers for London: C Spinks (0-7, 5 frees); S Rafter (0-4, 2 frees); R O'Connell, C Griffin, R McCready, T Waters (0-1).

KILKENNY: C Farnan; S Kelly, N Sherry, J Darmody; K Blanchfield, T Kenny, G Malone; T Aylward, J Culleton; M Malone, J Holohan, M Kenny; J Carroll, I Duggan, C Hennessy.

Subs: C Quilty for Darmody (46); A Mansfield for Holohan (51); R Monks for Duggan (55); S Gannon for Hennessy (63).

LONDON: F Beckles; R McCready, P O'Connor, E Reilly; R Lennon, C Houlihan, R O'Connell; R Forde, C Griffin; T Barry, T Waters, D Griffin; C Spinks, S Rafter, D Lynch.

Subs: M Tierney for O'Connell (46); A McNulty for D Griffin (51); R Kearney for Waters (55); A McGarvey for Houlihan (59); J Murphy for Lynch (63).

Referee: E McFeely (Donegal).