Walsh’s young Cats ready for Slaney test

THE primary focus in Kilkenny hurling this week may be on Brian Cody’s trip with his senior team to the south-east next Saturday night for their provincial battle with Wexford but before that, their U21 counterparts get set for a similar journey tonight.

Michael Walsh takes his charges to Wexford Park tonight for theiropening tie in the Bord Gáis Energy Leinster U21HC and the Kilkenny boss is wary of the challenge that their opponents pose.

“We’re very aware of the challenge that we face tonight. They have the majority of last year’s team available to them and were very unlucky to lose to Dublin in the Leinster final.

“In contrast Dublin beat us heavily earlier in the Leinster championship. Home advantage is another factor as well that they’ll have.”

Kilkenny began their campaign last season in this grade in blistering fashion when they thumped Offaly by a massive 29-point margin in Nowlan Park. Yet a fortnight later when they welcomed Dublin to the same venue, the Cats were defeated by six points.

“That’s the thing with U21 hurling, it’s real old-style championship stuff because it’s knockout,” says Walsh. “If not ready to produce on the night, you’ll be blown away. Dublin came down to play us last year, they were very well-prepared and that showed. It’s a lesson we’ll need to learn.”

Kilkenny have had no injury problems in the build-up to this game and will field a team containing three senior panellists in centre-back Richie Doyle, left half-back Conor Fogarty and left half-forward Eoin Murphy. Walsh can draw from minor sides that have reached the last three All-Ireland finals but he is adamant that such talent cannot lull the U21 setup into a sense of complacency.

“It’s a big step up. You look back over the last few years in the All-Ireland U21 football and hurling championships, and the champions generally tend not to be teams that have done well at minor level. From the minor team of 2008 that won the All-Ireland, two or three of them are not even available to us any more as they are out of the country. But we lot of very good players and we’re happy with where we are.”

KILKENNY U21H: D Walsh; I Duggan, M Walsh, A Moran; J Callinan, R Doyle, C Fogarty; J Lyng, O Walsh; T Breen, C Kenny, E Murphy; G Aylward, W Walsh, J Brennan.

WEXFORD U21H: M Fanning; W Devereux, M O’Hanlon, E Moore; M O’Regan, A Shore, S Murphy; E Kent, H Kehoe; S Tomkins, J Leacy, L Óg McGovern; P Morris, J Breen, P Doran.