Kilkenny Under-21 manager Brian Ryan admitted that his team had luck on their side as they snatched victory from Dublin in Parnell Park.
The hosts led for most of the game but were undone when Mark Mansfield’s shot deceived goalkeeper Seanie Brennan, who had the sun in his eyes, as the Cats prevailed by 4-12 to 2-16 to book a Leinster semi-final date with Carlow on 24 June. .
Ryan told RTÉ Sport: “They did [hold the edge for long stages], in fairness. I think they probably had the upper hand overall.
“Obviously, [perseverance] with a large chunk of luck at the end of the day [told] too.
“To win any hurling game when it’s that tight you need that bit of luck, tonight we got it. It’s heartbreaking for Dublin.
“The first round of the championship is always very hard to gauge.
“You don’t really know until the ball is thrown in what way the game is going to evolve but we’d be quiet happy to take the result but we have a hell of a lot of work to do to get over Carlow in the next round.”
