The Leinster hurling final was a rather predictable affair, with Kilkenny, despite misfiring on several cylinders, doing just enough to edge out a Wexford side which fought to the end with admirable tenacity, but ultimately lacked self-belief...

It was an exciting contest, due mainly to the closeness of the scores throughout, but An Moltóir could hardly agree with Tony Considine (writing in “DE PAPER”) that it was of higher quality than the Munster final epic of the previous week. The quality of forward play on both sides was simply below par, with few goal chances created and exactly half the scores coming from frees.

In recent years, Kilkenny had become very reliant on goals scored by their devastating full forward line of Shefflin, Carey and Carter to see off opponents. With Carey gone, Shefflin operating on the forty and Carter seemingly at sea in the absence of his old comrades-in-arms, the Cats don’t look nearly as menacing anymore, although Brian McEvoy made a good stab at fllling the gap in the first half last Sunday, before being mysteriously shunted into the left corner when Carter was called ashore.

An Moltóir was unable to compile a reliable count of individual plays from studying the match video, as so many players on both sides looked alike on the small screen, and Ger Canning hadn’t a clue who was who much of the time (even introducing a previously unheard of “Mulhall” to the Kilkenny defence). Overall, the game was fairly evenly matched in terms of possession, with both sides enjoying periods of territorial dominance. The vital passage in the game came immediately after half-time, when the Yellow Bellies hit a purple patch but failed dismally to put the scores on the board. For Barry Lambert to put three simple shots in a row wide to the right of the posts is inexcusable at any level of hurling.

Kilkenny, by contrast, chiselled some super points from much more difficult positions, and that was the ultimate difference. Like Cork against Limerick, they had that bit of extra class. They also had some good individual performances, especially Peter Barry, Derek Lyng and Martin Comerford right through and JJ Delaney and Brian McEvoy in the first half. Noel Hickey’s performance was probably artificially magnified by the poverty of Larry O’Gorman’s challenge, and no credits go to the Wexford management for their failure to make a change in this area until it was too late, or to switch Liam Dunne onto the rampant McEvoy in the first half.

Dunne, of course, once again let Wexford down with his hatchet job on Martin Comerford. Tony Dempsey is recorded as saying afterwards that anyone who has played on Dunne will tell you he’s a tough but fair player. An Moltóir’s experience is different and Dunne’s record of sendings-off tends to bear this out. But Wexford can still take some solace from the performance of their defence, and especially Declan Ruth and the wonderfully elegant Doc O’Connor. And while Barry Lambert and MJ Furlong didn’t overstretch the scoreboard operators (one of whom seemed to doze off at times), they still managed to get plenty of possession in good positions which augurs well for the future.

A big problem for Wexford, of course, is that the future starts next Sunday against Clare, on a weekend when the All-Ireland championship gets under way in earnest, with all but Limerick of the leading counties still in contention. Faced with the problem of picking themselves up again after the big effort put in against Kilkenny, without Liam Dunne and presumably Adrian Fenlon, Wexford will be up against it on Sunday. Despite malfunctioning in key areas, Clare were still very close to Tipperary in the first round of the Munster championship, and morale seemed to be good in the clinical dissection of Dublin. They will be fresh and keen, and despite their perennial forward problems, they may possess too much power for Wexford on the day.

An Moltóir expects Offaly to give Tipperary a good rattle in the televised game on Saturday evening. The fact that Offaly are managed by a Tipp man will give an extra edge to the contest. The end result may hinge on two questions: how much will the Offaly mentors and their younger players have learned from the game against Kilkenny, and how will Tipperary react to their chastening Munster final experience? Waterford showed that the Tipperary defence can be pulled apart by keeping the ball wide where pacy forwards can take isolated defenders on. Offaly have a lot of young forwards with pace and potential, and putting Brian Whelahan in among them could really set the cat among the pigeons. Ultimately, however, the continued absence of Johnny Dooley could deny them that extra cutting edge which could have made the difference.

The Galway/Cork clash has the makings of the game of the weekend. The luck of the first round qualifier draw means that Galway once again go into the deep end without having had a proper test, whereas Cork have been through several tight games (including the League final). On paper, Galway would seem to have a stronger panel of players than the Leesiders, but as ever the key problems are to deploy them properly and get the best out of them on the day. Despite all their talent, Galway appear to lack real leaders. This contrasts with the great team of the late 1980s, which oozed leadership all over the field, from Conor Hayes at fullback to the legendary halfback line, Pat Malone (a great player for the big day) at midfield and Joe Cooney and Noel Lane in the forwards. But with Cork still missing half a midfield and even more of a forward line, the Tribesmen should still pack enough all-round power to advance.