Hurlers ship heavy loss
Rampant Cats post record haul in semi-final
THE WEXFORD Senior hurlers plummeted to dark depths in Nowlan Park on June 21, 2015, when reigning All-Ireland champions Kilkenny went through them for a short cut to cruise effortlessly into yet another Leinster final on a 5-25 to 0-16 scoreline.
The rampant hosts posted a record score in the 76th meeting between the sides as they romped to a biggest win over their south-east rivals since the 8-8 to 1-1 rout in 1931.
It was painful to watch from a very early stage as the much-altered Wexford defensive unit was repeatedly torn asunder by an attack spearheaded by hurling magician Richie Hogan. The game was well and truly over long before half-time, with Kilkenny ahead by 3-7 to 0-10 at the break despite playing into the wind.
And their ruthless streak was emphasised in the last six minutes when, with several Wexford players completely switched off, they piled on a staggering seven points on the trot to complete that record championship score.
It was like men against innocent boys, with Kilkenny dictating the terms of the afternoon from the moment new captain and full-back Joey Holden won the toss and pointed his finger towards the city end, signifying that the home side were willing to play into the elements first.
A radical re-shuffle of the defence didn’t work for the losers, with Eoin Moore the only one of the sextet to start in the same position as he had done in Mullingar against Westmeath.
Captain Matthew O’Hanlon was moved from the edge of the square to centre-back to pick up Richie Hogan, with Lee Chin reverting to the right flank and Liam Ryan directly in front of Mark Fanning.
And though Ryan and O’Hanlon have made the number three and six jerseys their own since that dark day five years ago, this was certainly a baptism of fire.
The St. James’ clubman was switched to full-back after 16 minutes, but by that stage Kilkenny already had two goals on the board, were five points up, and were well on the road to success.
Some of the pre-match talk about the Cats being in transition and therefore vulnerable was exposed for the utter nonsense that it was, given that the conveyor belt of talent never breaks down on Noreside.
Just to prove that point, the least heralded of their six forwards, ex-Good Counsel player Ger Aylward, was the one who contributed most in the scoring stakes, finishing with an incredible 3-5 from play on a truly dark day for Wexford hurling.
Nine of Wexford’s 16 points came from placed balls by Ian Byrne. And while the visitors fluffed two golden goal chances in the opening half, Kilkenny took theirs with clinical efficiency and nearly managed a couple more before the break when they did as they pleased for long spells.
The beginning of the end came with less than ten minutes gone when the outstanding Richie Hogan sprayed a pass into the left corner.
A ruck for possession followed after Eoin Moore slipped and, when Michael Fennelly eventually emerged with the ball, Hogan had continued his run and claimed the midfielder’s pass before beating the advancing Fanning with a cool finish (1-2 to 0-3).
Hogan made a marvellous catch in the lead-up to the second goal, looping a handpass to his right for Ger Aylward whose shot went in off the goalkeeper’s body.
T.J. Reid blasted home a penalty after Liam Ryan brought him down, and Aylward completed his hat-trick in the second-half as the humiliation continued for Wexford.
Wexford: Mark Fanning; Ciarán Kenny, Liam Ryan, Eoin Moore; Lee Chin, Matthew O’Hanlon (capt.), Andrew Shore (0-1); David Redmond (0-2), Diarmuid O’Keeffe; Shane Tomkins, Daithí Waters, Ian Byrne (0-11, 9 frees); Paul Morris, Conor McDonald, Liam Og McGovern (0-2). Subs. - Kevin Foley for Morris, inj. (17), Aidan Nolan for Moore (32), Podge Doran for Waters (HT), Harry Kehoe for Tomkins (HT), Eanna Martin for Shore (62), Garrett Sinnott for McGovern (64).
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Paul Murphy, Joey Holden (capt.), Jackie Tyrrell; Pádraig Walsh, Kieran Joyce, Cillian Buckley (0-1); Michael Fennelly (0-1), Conor Fogarty; Walter Walsh, Richie Hogan (1-5), John Power (0-2); Ger Aylward (3-5), T.J. Reid (1-7, 1-0 pen., 0-3 frees, 0-1 ’65), Eoin Larkin (0-3). Subs. - Kevin Kelly (0-1) for Power (56), Shane Prendergast for Tyrrell (60), Robert Lennon for P. Murphy (61), Mark Kelly for Larkin (63).
Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork).