Bord Gáis Energy Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship first round results:

Laois 4-33 Westmeath 4-27 (after extra time)

Kildare 1-23 Carlow 3-16

Antrim 3-17 Down 1-13

At the weekend, the Leinster football championship provided the most dramatic action that was on show anywhere in the country, but the footballers of the province were upstaged by an array of remarkable young hurlers tonight, as night six teams went into battle in the province’s U-20 hurling championship and the quality of the action ranged from good, to outstanding, to memorable on a historic level.

By some distance, the most remarkable action was in Portlaoise, where the home side beat Westmeath 4-33 to 4-27 after extra time. A finish like this looked unlikely when Laois turned their first two attacks into goals by James Duggan and Gearóid Lynch. It looked almost impossible when Laois led by 2-11 to 0-6 at the first half water break, and beyond the bounds of possibility when Duggan crashed in his second goal to make it 3-17 to 0-11 just 30 seconds into the second half.

Inspired by midfielder Josh Coll (2-2) and Jack Gillen (1-8), Westmeath rallied to lead by one, then fall behind by two, lead by one again and then find themselves in extra time due to an equalizer from Tomás Keyes with the last puck that made it 4-22 for Laois to Westmeath’s 3-25.

Owen McCabe’s goal seemed to set the Lake county on the way to extra time victory, but Laois found another gear to rattle off ten of the last 11 points, with Keyes, Thep Fitzpatrick and Tadhg Cuddy scoring eight between them.

It was breathtaking stuff in Netwatch Cullen Park too, where first half goals from Fiach O’Toole and Eoin Hosey gave Carlow a narrow 2-7 to 0-11 interval lead. Liam Dempsey kept the scoreboard moving for Kildare, scoring 13 frees in total over the hour, and the game remained finely poised when Carlow’s Conor Treacy and then his namesake from Celbridge and Kildare traded goals. With time almost up, Paul Dolan was the match winner for the Lily Whites, firing over the point that made it 1-23 to 3-16 in favour of the visitors, a result which secured a measure of revenge for the Joe McDonagh Cup game between the counties that Carlow edged through on Saturday.

Finally in Ballycran Antrim were impressive in victory without having to come through a dramatic finish of that nature. Rian McMullan, Michael McGarry and Danan McKeogh were the goalscorers in a 3-17 to 1-13 win over Down.