Leinster final looms as Lyng’s Cats face trip to wounded Wexford

Westmeath’s dramatic comeback win over Wexford may have taken a bit of the heat out of Kilkenny’s South-East derby this Sunday, but Cats boss Derek Lyng will leave nothing to chance ahead of the clash with the Model County.

With three wins and a draw from their previous four games, the Cats look all but assured of a place in the Leinster senior hurling final next month.

Technically Kilkenny still need a draw to be 100% assured of a shot at a fourth provincial crown on the trot, but with Dublin and Galway both facing off in Croke Park and their massive scoring advantage over the Dubs, Croke Park beckons for the Noresiders.

Speaking after the Cats’ round-robin victory over Dublin last Saturday, the Kilkenny boss admitted that he still expects a big challenge from Wexford on Sunday.

“The pressure may be off going to Wexford Park, but we want to go down there to win,” said Lyng (inset). “It’s a great game for us to look forward to.

“We’re in a strong position going down there - we haven’t had a great record against Wexford so it’ll be a big game with a great atmosphere. It’s one that we’ll want to win.”

While Wexford cannot qualify for the latter stages of the All-Ireland championship, they still have plenty to play for as a defeat and an Antrim win over Westmeath would send them down to the Joe McDonagh Cup.

That is quite the sobering thought for any supporters of Wexford hurling and it may spring the hosts into a spirited display at the weekend as it’s been a very disappointing championship for them thus far.

It’s worth remembering that Wexford have a very good recent record against the Cats, a run which includes a win in Nowlan Park, but just how they’ve recovered from throwing away a 17-point lead to the Lake County remains to be seen.

Former Kilkenny defender Paul Murphy expects Kilkenny to name a strong team for Sunday’s encounter as they look to continue their winning momentum that’s been built up in recent weeks.

“Derek and the lads will be going down to Wexford Park knowing that the home side will be out for a reaction after the Westmeath defeat.

“Kilkenny will only be worried about themselves and I think we’ll see a strong team named for Sunday.”

Sunday’s game throw-in at Chadwicks Wexford Park at 2pm and with Galway and Dublin getting the television treatment, there will be no live coverage of the Kilkenny and Wexford clash but that should result in a decent crowd travelling to the game.