Kilkenny 3-22 1-8 Antrim

Antrim's Neil McGarry tries to catch Martin Comerford at Nowlan Park

Antrim's relegation from Division 1 of the Allianz NHL was confirmed as they suffered another hammering in Sunday's clash against Kilkenny at Nowlan Park.

The Saffrons led for most of the first half, helped by Paddy Richmond's 20th-minute goal, but once again, the Antrim roof caved in after half-time.

Kilkenny were level by the break and they 1-7 without reply after the restart to kill off the Saffrons.

Aidan Fogarty, Martin Comerford and Damien Fogarty hit Kilkenny's goals.

Antrim matched Kilkenny in the opening 35 minutes but there was always that nagging fear that Kilkenny would pull clear in the second half.

Midfielder Karl Stewart, Paul Shiels and Liam Watson were all on target early on as they Saffrons took a 0-3 to 0-2 lead.

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Kilkenny hit the next two scores to lead but the Saffrons were ahead again when Paddy Richmond hammered to the net after Shiels had knocked on a long ball from Stewart.

Further Watson and Richmond points helped the Saffrons push on to take a 1-5 to 0-5 lead but points from James Ryan, Aidan Fogarty and Richie Hogan brought the sides level by the break.

The second half was one-way traffic as Kilkenny outscored Antrim by a whopping 3-14 to 0-3.

Kilkenny had forged a 0-13 to 1-5 lead when Aidan Fogarty hammered in their opening game.

Comerford's goal quickly followed on 52 minutes and the procession of Cats scored continued during the remainder of the game.

After the promise of the Walsh Cup in January, the league campaign appears to have left Antrim hurling, if not quite back at square one, then pretty adjacent to it.

Antrim joint-manager Dominic McKinley acknowledged his concern about the pattern of second-half collapses in recent matches.

We have improved this year, irrespective of what people say Antrim joint-manager Dominic McKinley

"It's something we talked about before the game," McKinley told BBC Sport.

"If we reflect back on the first half, we had a lot of chances and a lot of good possession to get more scores.

"Maybe when you're lacking confidence and you go in at half-time with very little in it and coming out against the breeze, it affects the players.

"At this moment in time, the confidence seems to be gone."

However, McKinley remains convinced that the Saffrons have made progress this year and the joint-manager is surely correct.

"We have improved this year, irrespective of what people say, but it's a long haul.

"We have a lot of young players and we introduced PJ O'Connell today at midfield and he did quite well in the first half.

"But it's a tough league to bring in young players."

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Sunday's Allianz National League results

NFL
Division 2
Dublin 1-10 0-13 Monaghan

NHL
Division 1A
Kilkenny 3-22 1-8 Antrim
Waterford 3-18 1-17 Dublin
Cork 0-22 1-17 Wexford

Division 1B
Tipperary 4-17 1-12 Laois
Limerick 1-16 2-24 Galway
Offaly 2-13 1-18 Clare

Division 2A
Kerry 4-9 1-16 Mayo
Wicklow 3-12 3-9 Roscommon
Westmeath 0-11 0-9 Kildare

Division 2B
Armagh 1-7 1-16 Meath
Carlow 1-14 1-7 Derry

Division 3
Sligo 0-13 2-14 Donegal
Longford 1-10 4-8 Louth

Division 4
Cavan 3-4 4-15 Monaghan
Leitrim 2-12 3-11 South Down