Kilkenny 2-20, Offaly 1-14 After three years of serving up nothing but dismal mismatches, Kilkenny and Offaly threatened a new departure in yesterday's Guinness Leinster semi-final.
Although it settled into a familiar routine after half-time, the match was lively and exhilaratingly competitive for the first 35 minutes. Offaly manager Tom Fogarty will take some consolation from the performance of his younger players but there were also signs of strain.
Hardest for the team to bear, Brian Whelahan was thoroughly out of sorts. Placed in the centre-back berth that has never been his happiest station, Whelahan struggled to deal with Kilkenny's top gun Henry Shefflin who ended the afternoon with seven points from play out of a total of 11.
Equally as troublesome was his inability to play a reasonable supply of ball and exert the usual influence, apart from very early on when he won some good possession.
It was mystifying that his plight evoked so little response from the line and not until 10 minutes from the end did Joe Brady switch to centre back.
Offaly started as if they would be spinning those old, cherished LPs about the motivation of being written off by the end of the afternoon. Their attack looked sharp and menacing, moving quickly and switching positions effectively. But the points weren't flowing and by the 12th minute Simon Whelahan was shooting only the second point of the match, from a free.
A lot of attempts dropped short which meant that James McGarry in the Kilkenny goal saw a lot of ball without being unduly threatened. The promising momentum was undermined within a minute and Kilkenny took the lead. Eddie Brennan scythed in from the right, protected the ball well and finished strongly to the net.
The well-taken score established a pattern of Kilkenny taking their scores with greater economy. Shefflin was doing as he wished and seemed to have no difficulty drifting around the field and snapping up scoring chances. With the match evenly-poised and scores alternating, Kilkenny again raised the stakes.
Once more it was Brennan who made the break. Running into space, he spotted John Hoyne in even more space and a quick pass set up the Graigue Ballycallan man for a smartly-taken goal. For a while it looked as if Kilkenny were making the decisive break but Offaly responded well.
Their new forwards had already showed some good touches, with Rory Hanniffy and Stephen Brown scoring nice points.
The downside for Offaly was that the old guard was struggling. Aside from Brian Whelahan, Hubert Rigney had difficulty settling in his new role at centrefield. Kevin Martin didn't have a happy outing at centre forward but replacing him after 20 minutes seemed harsh.
On a happier note, Brian Carroll - son of the late Pat - came on for his debut and shot two points. And alone of his generation, Joe Errity had an efficient afternoon at full back.
Coming into first-half injury-time Stephen Brown was about to move centre-stage for contrasting reasons. In the 37th minute, he challenged Noel Hickey so effectively for a ball that it ran for the in-rushing Brendan Murphy.
Rather than rise the ball, Murphy flung himself at it and unleashed a pull from around 13 metres which flew into the net to cut the half-time deficit to a single point.
In the time remaining before the break, Offaly suffered a major setback on two fronts. First came the loss of an excellent goal opportunity.
Chasing a long ball in behind the defence Brown was closing when he suddenly pulled up as if he'd been shot. Reduced to hobbling for the ball, he was unable to get a decent contact and McGarry blocked the ball for a 65.
Second came the inevitable withdrawal of Brown, although this didn't take place until shortly into the second half as Offaly gambled on the Birr debutant playing through the injury.
Shefflin's quick-fire three points on the restart effectively spelled the end of the road for Offaly.
Kilkenny began to stretch their legs and pick off scores. At the other end, Offaly were relying on a very small full-forward line,although Simon Whelahan was combative and scored all but one of the team's second-half total of five points.
Kilkenny played their part in the shut-out. Brian Cody introduced Brian McEvoy and Charlie Carter - back after suspension and hibernation respectively - and both made significant contributions to the second-half scoring push.
Carter, in particular, picked up from last year's spectacular form, hitting four wonderful points from four attempts. This means that over the past two Leinster championships, he has missed just one shot at a score (Damien Fitzhenry's save in last year's provincial final). One of the points was especially startling, a mesmerising pirouette on the right and a pinpoint shot.
Offaly now have to brush themselves down and get ready for the qualifiers, but for Kilkenny the most pressing problem will be who to include and leave out for next month's Leinster final against Wexford.
KILKENNY: 1. J McGarry; 2. M Kavanagh, 3. N Hickey, 4. P Larkin; 5. R Mullally, 6. P Barry, 7. JJ Delaney; 8. D Lyng, 9. P Tennyson; 10. J Hoyne, 11. H Shefflin, 12. A Comerford (capt.); 13. E Brennan, 14. M Comerford, 15. S Grehan. Subs: 21. B McEvoy for Tennyson (43 mins), 22. C Carter for Grehan (43 mins), 25. B Dowling for Brennan (64 mins). Yellow cards - Kilkenny: N Hickey (54 mins). Red cards - None.
OFFALY: 1. S Byrne; 2. M O'Hara, 3. J Errity (capt.), 4. JP O'Meara; 5. J Brady, 6. Brian Whelahan, 7. N Claffey; 8. Barry Whelahan, 9. H Rigney; 14. G Hanniffy, 11. K Martin, 12. B Murphy; 13. R Hanniffy, 10. S Brown, 15. S Whelahan. Subs: 19. B Carroll for Martin (21 mins), 20. D Murray for Brown (39 mins), 21. J Ryan for Murray (64 mins).
