Kilkenny 0-23 Wexford 1-5THE SILENCE said it all. Although the guts of 4,500 people passed through the turnstiles into Wexford Park for this league encounter, a surreal atmosphere - more akin to a museum, or that of an art exhibition - prevailed by the end, as those Wexford supporters in the crowd appeared dumbstruck by the ineptitude of their own team and awestruck by the display of the visitors.
Kilkenny supporters, of course, sat back in their seats in the knowledge that this team built by Brian Cody is something special and could simply admire the destruction of Wexford which unfolded before their very eyes. Indeed, this was yet another vintage exhibition from the All-Ireland champions, who, with an unblemished record, are simply going through the motions en route to a place in the league knock-out stages.
Yesterday's 15-point mauling was a mismatch, a clash of men against boys: in every department, Kilkenny were stronger, faster, more efficient. But, then, few teams can live with them; it's not just Wexford who are left to chase shadows against the striped cats.
Still, those people who forked out €15 to witness this one-sided match will at least have got some value for their euro from Kilkenny's performance. It was textbook hurling by the men who wrote the manual. The only time Kilkenny were in any trouble was at the toss, which Wexford won. They chose to play into the stiff wind. It was to prove to be the wrong decision, as all it did was to give Kilkenny the opportunity to build a strong platform from which to win the game.
It was all too easy for Kilkenny. By half-time, picking off their points with aplomb and resisting the temptation to contrive any goal chances, they were 0-17 to 0-5 ahead and, in truth, the game was already out of Wexford's reach.
The real disappointment was Wexford failed to make any match of it in the second half, their only return being a solitary goal, and that of the fortuitous variety, as Rory Jacob was in the right place at the right time to finish to the net after Barry Lambert's initial shot travelled across the goalmouth.
Rather than spark Wexford into life, however, that 40th-minute goal - which briefly reduced the deficit to 10 points - was to be the high point of a dreadfully poor and dispirited performance that also included substitute Stephen Banville's late dismissal for a second yellow card.
Kilkenny can only do what they can of course; and, it would seem, the competition for places on the team more than anything else keeps the players keen and hungry. On this occasion, one of the more eye-catching displays came from centre forward Michael Rice, who contributed four points from play before being substituted with a groin injury midway through the second half.
Rice and his wing forward colleagues Richard Power (who was to end the game with seven points, three from frees) and Eddie Brennan were central to Kilkenny's first-half powerhouse display, while the midfield duo of James Fitzpatrick and Michael Fennelly mopped up around the centre of the park. And, when required, the defence - with Tommy Walsh in especially good form - were as tight as a miser's fist.
Kilkenny never trailed, with Rice putting them ahead inside the opening minute. It was the preamble for an authoritative display from Kilkenny that left Wexford ragged. One point in particular in the 15th minute demonstrated Kilkenny's proficiency. Power and Eoin Reid were involved in the build-up before Rice tapped over for his side's eighth point rather than careering in on goal.
Although Wexford trailed by 12 points at half-time, more was expected from them in the second half, when they were aided by the strong wind. That their only return was Rory Jacob's goal - allied to no fewer than nine wides - put Wexford's dreadfully poor performance into perspective. Indeed, Kilkenny's response to conceding that goal was to hit five unanswered points into the wind.
"We played well," admitted Cody. "We got the scores and got a bit of a cushion . . . the plan for the league is to try to win and to get matches into as many players as we can. We'll just try to keep it going. We just look after ourselves and play the way we want to play and be competitive.
"This time of the year you can never be sure of how teams are going from the point of view of training and that, so it is very difficult to gauge from the point of view of later in the year. All we can do is look after the moment."
KILKENNY:PJ Ryan; M Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, J Ryall; J Fitzpatrick, M Fennelly; R Power (0-7, three frees), M Rice (0-4), E Brennan (0-3); E Reid (0-3), M Comerford (0-2), A Fogarty (0-4). Subs:TJ Reid for Rice (45 mins), PJ Delaney for Ryall (61 mins), R Hogan for Power (61 mins).
WEXFORD:D Fitzhenry; M Travers, K Rossiter, P Roche; R Kehoe, W Doran, D Lyng; M Jacob, J O'Connor (0-1);M Doyle, E Quigley, S Nolan (0-3, all frees);B Lambert, D Redmond (0-1), R Jacob (1-0). Subs:D O'Connor for Quigley (17 mins), C Kenny for Lyng (18 mins), C Farrell for R Jacob (47 mins), S Banville for D O'Connor (50 mins), Lyng for Doyle (55 mins), D Morton (blood sub) for Travers (61 mins).
Referee: Barry Kelly(Westmeath).
