Wexford will be brave, but Cats will be too good

AFTER a magnificent win in the Leinster U21 semi-final during the last week, Wexford are going in to this game with their tails up and heads high.

And therein, of course, lies the concern.

What’s this they say about the danger of approaching a wounded animal? Make no mistake, Kilkenny are hurting. Beaten by Tipperary in last year’s All-Ireland final, defeated again in this year’s Allianz Hurling League final by Dublin, pipped in mid-week in the U21 grade, they want to get this show back on the road, and losing in Leinster is simply not an option.

They’ve been here before though. In 2004 Kilkenny were reigning All-Ireland champions, going for three-in-a-row, met Wexford in Croke Park in the Leinster semi-final, and lost, a last-minute Michael Jacob goal.

It was the first time Kilkenny had been beaten in Leinster since the final of 1997, Wexford again their conquerors. It was also the last time Kilkenny were beaten in Leinster. In any province, hurling or football, that is some record.

Can Wexford do it again? After a horrific start, when a weakened team went down heavily against Galway in Pearse stadium in the first round, they recovered well, came close against both Waterford and Kilkenny, lost what was seen as the relegation decider against Offaly but came back from the dead to take three points from their final two games, a win against Cork and a draw against Tipp.

This assured their Division One status again for next year so that even before the U21 mid-week win, this Wexford team was already on a high. What it all should mean is that regardless of result, Wexford should give a good account of themselves this evening.

What of Kilkenny? Well, Henry Sheflin is back which isn’t good news for Wexford or for their teenage full-back Matthew O’Hanlon especially with Henry likely to appear at the edge of the square sooner rather than later.

That news on its own would be enough to lift the Cats, but though the team isn’t known at the time of writing, word is that several more of the big guns are also in the frame, and they are flying, absolutely flying.

Don’t write off another shock, but a shock it would truly be.

Verdict: Kilkenny

Picture: Henry Shefflin: His return is bad news for Wexford