WALSH CUP SEMI-FINALS: Kilkenny 3-16 Laois 1-9:KILKENNY MAY have failed to deliver the five in a row but yesterday delivered a chilling message to the pack that they have not gone away.

For several players this was their first competitive outing since that fateful day last September but they looked to have put that behind them and earned a place against Dublin in the final.

Laois had two wins under their belt but when Aiden Fogarty whipped a rebound to the net after five minutes the writing was on the wall.

The Laois defence coped well for a while but when former minor star Richie Hogan hit a fierce drive home after 20 minutes the visitors led by 2-6 to 0-4, Willie Hyland accounting for three points for Laois.

Five minutes before the break a good Laois move saw John Brophy hammer the ball to the roof of the net and at the interval Laois trailed 1-4 to 2-8.

Even with the breeze behind them Laois made little impression on the change over and Kilkenny added six points in the third quarter before Richie Hogan made his case for a permanent position when he ran through the defence before hammering home Kilkenny’s third goal to seal a date with Anthony Daly an co next weekend.

KILKENNY:D Herity; P Murphy, J Dalton, C Fogarty; T Walsh, J Tyrell, JJ Delaney; M Fennelly (0-1), P Hogan (0-2); R Hogan (2-7), M Rice, J Mulhall (0-1); C Fennelly (0-1), E Larkin (0-1), A Fogarty (1-2); Subs:E Brennan (0-1) for A Fogarty, M Ruth for JJ Delaney.

LAOIS:P Mullaney; B Smyth, B Campion, BStapleton; J Fitzpatrick, M Whelan, C Dunne; S Burke (0-2), J Walsh; B Dunne, E Holohan, W Hyland (0-7), J Purcell, T Fitzgerald, J Brophy (1-0). Subs:N Foyle for E Holohan, B Galvin for B Stapleton, E Reilly for P Mullaney, R Gill for T Fitzgerald, J Delaney for C Dunne.

Referee:J McGrath Westmeath.