NHL round-up:Kilkenny moved top of the Allianz Hurling League Division One table with a six-point win over Wexford at Nowlan Park, as Dublin won in Offaly and Cork ended Galway's winning run.
The Cats did the damage in the first half with goals from TJ Reid and ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick, while Richie Hogan pointed five times for a nine-point advantage at halftime.
Wexford endeavoured to make a game of it in the second half, and managed to close the gap but couldn’t prevent their third defeat in as many games.
Dublin got their second win of the campaign with an impressive 13-point win over 14-man Offaly in Tullamore.
Conal Keaney was again to the fore, with nine points, while Ryan O’Dwyer struck two goals before the break, that came either side of Brian Mulrooney’s sending off for an off-the-ball incident.
With a 12-point lead heading into the second half, it was Dublin’s to lose. Shane Dooley found the net for Offaly in the 50th minute but that only restored the halftime deficit.
Joe Bergin’s penalty could have made the scoreline a little more respectable but Gary Maguire was equal to it in the Dublin goal.
Galway were knocked off the top of the table by Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in a more evenly contested game.
Cork’s Pat Horgan found the net for the Rebels and Aengus Callinan responded but the Tribesmen trailed by six at the interval.
They clawed their way back into it, however, thanks to Ger Farragher’s seven-point haul after the break and it was all to play for in the dying moments.
The Rebels came up with the scores when needed, though, with Horgan pointing before a double from Cathal Naughton sealed the win.
“It was obvious that if we were beaten here it was a Galway-Kilkenny final – that’s the way it was heading,” said Cork manager Denis Walsh afterwards. “By winning we have opened it up for ourselves and for other teams as well."
NHL Results
Division 1
Cork 1-20 Galway 1-17
Kilkenny 2-16 Wexford 0-17
Offaly 1-13 Dublin 2-23
Division 2
Carlow 2-17 Kerry 1-12
Down 2-11 Limerick 1-25
Westmeath 2-17 Clare 1-27
Division 3a
Armagh 0-12 Kildare 1-16
Derry 0-15 Meath 0-14
London 1-14 Wicklow 1-15
Division 3b
Fingal 0-14 Louth 1-14
Monaghan 1-14 Donegal 3-12
Roscommon 1-19 Sligo 1-10
Division 4
Cavan 1-06 Tyrone 4-23
Fermanagh 2-11 South Down 4-13
Leitrim 3-08 Longford 2-15