The main talking points as Kilkenny maintain march towards Leinster SHC Final

MAIN MAN
Billy Ryan (Kilkenny)
The Graigue-Ballycallan man has grown into a vital cog in the Kilkenny machine and he was brilliant on Sunday as his 2-3 tally from play helped the Cats to a narrow success. His overall game was on point and his stoppage time goal put the seal on the victory.

TURNING POINT
Dublin’s goal in the 39th minute via Sean Currie under normal circumstances would have just been a staging point but on this occasion it proved to be the start of an amazing Dublin comeback that saw Kilkenny’s advantage whittled from 16 points at the start of the second half to just a puck of the ball and the Cats only reagined parity late in the day.

TALKING POINT
Kilkenny will have been delighted with how they played throughout the opening half but the slip-up in the second period where they lost all control of the game and the result looked in doubt will have been a big concern among the management.

Highlight
The win which was a fourth in succession during the Leinster Championship for Kilkenny sees them atomatically book a place i the Leinster Final with a game to spare so this weekend’s game with Wexford gives Derek Lyng a chance to experiment a little with bigger games coming down the track.

Lowlight
The Kilkenny injury casualty list shows no sign of letting up with Luke Hogan limping off with a serious looking knock near the end of the game.

WHAT NOW?
Kilkenny are now through to a Leinster Final and the clash with Wexford next Sunday is basically a dead rubber in Chadwicks Wexford Park while Dublin play host to Galway in what is basically a playoff to qualify for next month’s provincial decider.

Attendance
8011