Chaos as Leinster U20 final twice delayed by pitch invasion

The U20 Leinster Hurling final between Dublin and Offaly descended into chaos with two separate pitch invasions delaying play.

Offaly brought a huge crowd with them to O'Moore Park this evening and with the Faithful County six points up in stoppage time, young fans could be seen making their way down to the sidelines in anticipation of the final whistle.

With three minutes added time announced by the referee, Dan Bourke clipped over a close-range free. This was the cue for hundreds of fans to storm the pitch as they thought the game was over.

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Play was stopped for a minute or so as officials and players urged supporters to get off the pitch. They eventually did, and upon the resumption of play, Conn Rock found a late Dublin goal to leave Offaly fans with their hearts in their collective mouths.

Supporters again rushed the pitch thinking play was over, and again were asked to vacate the field as there was still added time to be played.

Fans left the pitch for the second time, and after David Purcell was shown a red card for Dublin, the referee eventually blew the final whistle and a third full scale pitch invasion began.

In the end, Offaly beat Dublin on a scoreline of 1-18 to 1-15.

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