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It was a tough start to Antrim's Leinster Hurling Championship at Nowlan Park on Sunday, with Kilkenny claiming a comprehensive victory 5-30 to 0-13.
There was no mercy for the Cats who wanted to put their markers down and they did just that, dominating from start to finish without giving Antrim any incentive to cause an upset.
They were simply stronger, sharper and playing the game at a different pace than Antrim, who couldn't get into the game at all.
After the initial exchanges, with two frees from TJ Reid and one from Conal Canning, Kilkenny started to open up from play with Adrian Mullen, Richie Reid and John Donnelly-Landon.
The Saffrons countered James McNaughton's first-from play with Canning free on either side. The first ball laid down came when Ogan Campbell was adjudged to have been forced just outside the area defending goal.
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With Antrim struggling to take the lead, Kilkenny dominated the restart and, after goals from Cian Kenny and Martin Cogan, Paddy Deegan snatched an Antrim pock-out and the goal they were threatening was born. TJ Reed made a long shot to defeat Ryan McGarry in the final. in the air before running towards the goal.
Two points followed and Antrim goalkeeper Ryan Elliott was charged with bringing down Cogan outside the area, but it was deemed a penalty breach. Tiernan Smith came on for 10 minutes in place of Niall McKenna and the Ballycastle man made an excellent save from a lead penalty.
Antrim fought back with a goal from Conor McCann at the other end, but Kilkenny had more wides with nine points in the first half, but made up for it as they led from 1-15 to 0-7 at half-time. There were enough points for that.
It took a few minutes for Kilkenny to get going in the second period, but Reid scored again from a free with a chip from John Donnelly and Shane Murphy, which set Kilkenny up.
Antrim made little headway, inching forward with strangely sporadic scoring, but Kilkenny got back on track with Owen Wall scoring their second goal in the 49th minute, with their bench setting up value.
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Billy Drennan was substituted for TJ Reed at 1-6 between free and play. His goal came on a penalty after Cogan was tripped by Connor Boyd outside the area but was deemed a goal chance to earn him another black card.
Earlier, Wall fired home his second goal and Gearoid Dunn also found the back of the net to round off a fine display for Derek Ring's side, but Antrim will be looking to hit back when they host Wexford next week. become.
