Wexford's fresh approach to old tale falls away to same old gory ending

Kilkenny 5-21 Wexford 0-17:IT STARTED promisingly enough, an interesting slant to a familiar storyline. Then it all descended into character and cliché and ended up in the usual display of destruction.

So goes the latest remake of The Incredible Hulk, and my sentiments exactly after the latest edition of the Leinster hurling final. There are a lot of reasons Kilkenny are the best hurling team in the country, and it may also be their blood has been infected by gamma radiation.

Don't make us angry. You wouldn't like us when we're angry.

Wexford made them angry in the opening 35 minutes, rising to the occasion with great courage and commitment, but also rising Kilkenny's dander in the process.

Wexford were two points down at half-time, and ended up losing by 19. Kilkenny, true to character, hardly cared about the damage they were causing.

It brought them their 10th Leinster title of the last 11 years, and 65th in all - and that's a nice thing to be bragging about, except it seems to be getting easier for Kilkenny every year, when it should be the other way around. They are, by the way, also straight into the All-Ireland semi-final. Two games down, two to go, and then they have three All-Irelands in a row - and that still looks the reality of it.

But then reality is biting from every direction these days, and Croke Park yesterday was no exception: just 18,855 showed up, well down on last year's figure of 34,872 and dwarfed by the 55,492 of 11 years ago.

Between that and the price of oil and our so-called summer, maybe now we can all sit down, hold hands and have a good old cry.

It would be easier to focus on Wexford's first-half performance, where they matched Kilkenny for every stroke of the ball and played on our hearts like a rhapsody. Just like the good old days, we thought.

Truth is this ended as another bad day for Wexford, up there with the worst of them. There's simply no disguising that.

They had Kilkenny well within reach - 1-9 to 0-10 - at half-time, Henry Shefflin's penalty after just eight minutes the only significant difference between the teams (following a foul on Eoin Larkin).

Wexford were tactically astute, playing mostly ground hurling, varying their puck-outs and running at Kilkenny (which, as we know now, only makes them angry).

Full back Keith Rossiter didn't start because of a groin injury (replaced by James Tonks), yet the Wexford defence looked solid, limiting Kilkenny to just six points from play in the opening 35 minutes.

Larkin was causing plenty of problems out on the wing, and James "Cha" Fitzpatrick, was lording midfield, and still Kilkenny were struggling to contain the likes of Rory Jacob, PJ Nolan and even big Stephen Banville, who was forcing the very best out of JJ Delaney. With Diarmuid Lyng in excellent form with the placed ball (also hitting one sublime sideline) there was nothing cheap about Wexford's game. They were playing with spirit and seemed to be relishing it too.

What happened over the second 35 minutes was a simple combination of Kilkenny's brute determination (and anger), and Wexford's inability to last the pace - physically, but perhaps mentally as well.

Kilkenny were always going to come back at them, and when they did, Wexford were too easily crushed, as if there were some special effects involved.

Still, few could have anticipated the ruthless demolition that ensued. Having been kept ominously quiet for the first half, Eddie Brennan suddenly sprang to life and hit 2-1 in the space of five minutes. His first goal was the result of pure will, as he wrestled with almost half the Wexford defence and still found the space to whack the ball past them all.

A Shefflin free and a superb Richie Power point immediately followed, and then Brennan finished a fine one-two between Shefflin and Fitzpatrick for another.

To complete this mesmerising spell, Brennan hit his second goal with stunning accuracy, after Derek Lyng had his initial effort blocked down, to rattle the top corner of Damien Fitzhenry's net.

So, suddenly Kilkenny were up double scores - 3-13 to 0-11 - with over 20 minutes still left. With Shefflin now playing in the half-forward line, their possession game was complete.

Jackie Tyrrell had also grown into his new position at midfield, and things could not go downhill any faster for Wexford.

Wexford's cool heads deserted them when they needed them most, and it made for a torturous last 20 minutes. Every ounce of the intensity they had displayed in the first half inexplicably evaporated, and Kilkenny, typically, showed no sympathy.

Their fourth goal on 51 minutes was straight out of an instructional video. Larkin produced a storming run from the halfway line, dropping Michael Jacob with ease, and in the last instant passed off to Power - who duly obliged with the thunderous finish. Ten minutes later Martin Comerford hit his first point, which meant by then all six forwards had scored.

There were the inevitable substitutions, which merely underlined Kilkenny's strength. Aidan Fogarty came on for Comerford, and within two minutes had scored goal number five - this one an easy swipe home after Tonks had mishandled a clearance.

Gardaí and stewards had yet to be called to their end-of-match positions, but it was all over.

Larkin capped a man-of-the-match performance with one of the closing points, and Barry Kelly only needed the slightest puff on his whistle. And then the credits rolled, for another year.

KILKENNY: 1 PJ Ryan; 2 M Kavanagh, 3 JJ Delaney; 4 J Dalton; 5 T Walsh, 6 B Hogan, 7 PJ Delaney; 8 J "Cha" Fitzpatrick (0-4, one free), 9 J Tyrrell; 10 M Comerford (0-1), 11 D Lyng (0-1), 15 E Brennan (2-2); 13 R Power (1-2), 12 E Larkin (0-3), 14 H Shefflin (1-7, seven frees, one penalty). Subs: 20 M Rice for Power (13 mins); 22 A Fogarty (1-1) for Comerford, 21 W O'Dwyer for Lyng (both 63 mins); 19 R Mullally for PJ Delaney (66 mins).

WEXFORD: 1 D Fitzhenry; 2 M Travers, 4 P Roche, 21 J Tonks; 5 M Jacob (0-1), 6 D O'Connor, 7 D Stamp; 8 E Quigley, 9 D Redmond (0-2); 10 PJ Nolan (0-2), 11 W Doran, 12 D Lyng (0-7, six frees, one sideline); 13 S Doyle (0-1), 14 S Banville, 15 R Jacob (0-3). Subs: 22 B Lambert (0-1) for Nolan (55 mins); 17 C Farrell for Roche (56 mins).

YELLOW CARDS: Kilkenny: E Larkin (22 mins), T Walsh (29 mins), M Comerford (46 mins), R Power (46 mins); Wexford: M Travers (48 mins). RED CARDS: None.

Referee: Barry Kelly (Westmeath).

Attendance: 18,855.