Jake Mullen impressed for the Kilkenny minor hurlers in thier Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Hurling Championship victory over Wexford.
Electric Ireland Leinster minor hurling championship
Tier 1, Round 1
Galway 2-17 Dublin 1-13
Kilkenny 1-31 Wexford 0-12
Tier 2, Group 1, Round 4
Offaly 5-23 Wicklow 0-7
Westmeath 3-18 Antrim 3-10
By Paul Keane
When this season's Electric Ireland All-Ireland MHC campaign wraps up, Ethan Coleman's second-half goal at Parnell Park will be remembered as a highlight.
Coleman struck both goals for Galway in their impressive seven-point win in the capital, adding a point in the final quarter to lock down a significant opening round win.
But it was his second goal in the 48th minute that really stood out, the Loughrea youngster brought to his knees by a clear foul but still able to get a shot away which struck the net.
It was a fully deserved win overall for Kenneth Burke's Galway side who led from the first point in the opening minute all the way until full-time.
A strong start gave Galway a platform for success with Coleman's first goal after 12 minutes giving the westerners a 1-6 to 0-2 lead at that stage.
Richie Hession picked off three points for Dublin in the opening half and there were scores too from Luke Hayes and Rory Duffy.
But Galway still hit the interval with a 1-10 to 0-6 lead and were always at least four points clear throughout the second-half.
Dublin did briefly rally and threaten a comeback with goalscorer Sean Culleton, free-taker Rory Flannery and Finn O'Donnell contributing 1-2 between them midway through the half.
But then came the second Coleman goal, a piece of magic which put Galway seven points up once again and in pole position. Cillian Roche and Jack Shaughnessy added late points for Galway.
Holders Kilkenny were largely at their ease on home soil at UPMC Nowlan Park, seeing off Wexford with 22 points to spare.
Kilkenny led by just 0-9 to 0-5 with 25 minutes on the clock but Conor Holohan's goal gave the young Cats the impetus to pull decisively clear.
The excellent Ollie O'Donovan, Eoin Brennan and Jake Mullen were on the mark with points late in the half too and Kilkenny were 1-13 to 0-5 up at half-time.
They kept the pressure on throughout a one-sided second-half with Mullen, younger brother of Kilkenny senior star Adrian, adding five more points.
Kevin Buggy and Oisin Henderson struck points also as Kilkenny stretched the gap. It could have been worse for Wexford as goalkeeper Martin Dempsey twice made great stops to deny O'Donovan.
Kilkenny closed out the game with six points in a row from Kealan Barcoe, 3, Adam Maher, Mullen and Diarmuid Behan.
Meanwhile, Offaly and Westmeath continue to set the pace at the head of Tier 2, Group 1 after three wins in a row.
The two teams will meet eachother next weekend at a Westmeath venue with the outcome set to decide who finishes first and second in the table.
As things stand, both teams are through to Leinster's preliminary quarter-finals.
Odhran Fletcher maintained his strong form for Offaly in Saturday's five-goal dismissal of Wicklow, scoring 1-8, while Edward Carty, Jack Dunican, Adam Martin and Tom O'Dwyer accounted for the other goals.
Westmeath made no mistake either, taking care of Antrim with eight points to spare.
