There's something almost hypnotic about a hurling team on song, and the only danger to Kilkenny yesterday was that they would put themselves to sleep. In fact, as the referee awaited the belated reappearance of the All-Ireland champions for the second half - wondering perhaps if there was any point to carrying on - an advertisement flashed up on the electronic scoreboard with a low call number for a bookmakers advising they were still open for business.
In truth, by then, all bets were surely off. Kilkenny were so far ahead of the game - Offaly manager Michael Bond admitting, "I was probably the only man in the ground who still thought we had a chance" - that the size of the eventual winning margin was the only real concern in this Leinster senior hurling championship semi-final.
By the end, with a 12 points cushion separating these two great rivals, Kilkenny had confirmed they were the masters. "Awesome," was Bond's post-match assessment of Kilkenny's performance and, indeed, that was exactly what his men had encountered from the champions: not only in terms of stealth in their score-taking, which is pretty much a cat-like trait, but also in Kilkenny's physical presence. There were simply no weaknesses in the team or their game plan.
Much of the captivation about this Kilkenny team lies in their flamboyant forwards. And, yet, much of the ground-building work is performed further back. So it was again yesterday. Eamonn Kennedy had a huge game in the pivotal centrehalf back position and, immediately behind him, Noel Hickey's resolute defending was such that any cracks that did appear were promptly covered. In midfield, Andy Comerford was, well, Andy Comerford: the strong, dependable type.
Also, on the occasion when someone as talented as DJ Carey was handcuffed, as he was in the early stages of the game by Kevin Kinahan, the beauty - certainly for the numerous Kilkenny supporters in the crowd of 45,475 - was that there was no shortage of replacement leaders. Yesterday, Charlie Carter was the inspiration, while Eddie Brennan made an impressive appearance as a substitute as if to demonstrate that in modern hurling a team is only as strong as its bench.
Offaly never built up a head of steam. Johnny Pilkington, who was involved in a car crash in midweek, failed to impact on the game and Brian Whelahan - flung into the full-forward line upon the restart in a desperate attempt to salvage something - was virtually an anonymous figure. The end result was that Kilkenny cruised to victory, albeit helped in no small way by two critical goals that came in the dying minutes of the first half.
Although Carter's wizardry - he scored three excellent points in the opening period - was the primary difference in building up a seven points lead as the game approached the break, there was a feeling that all was not lost if Offaly could somehow rediscover some potency and maybe grab a goal of their own. But the two goals at the death of that half effectively killed off those hopes.
The first came in the 35th minute and was pure Kilkenny. Canice Brennan swept the ball across to Carter who immediately played it in to Eddie Brennan; and, shaping up as if he were going to shot himself, Brennan then spied Henry Shefflin alone and in a better position. The pass was perfect, the finish even more so.
Two minutes into added time, and Eddie Brennan had added to Offaly's woe. This time, it was a pure poacher's goal. Offaly defender Hubert Rigney looked set to make a comfortable clearance but, for some reason, allowed the sliotar to fall to Brennan. He didn't need a second invitation before slamming it home. In two fell swoops, Kilkenny's interval lead had mushroomed to 12 points.
As so often in the past, Offaly's best play can be found in adversity. And, for 10 minutes of the second half, it looked as if another of their traditional fightbacks was on the cards. Johnny Dooley showed accuracy from play and dead balls and, at one stage, the lead was reduced to seven points as Offaly attempted to claw their way into the game. Crucially, though, Offaly never really looked like scoring a goal, the closest being a John Troy shot that went tamely wide.
And Kilkenny's response? Four unanswered points, the sweetest coming from Carter who got on the end of a handball-type pass from Carey. When Offaly, refusing to fade away, came back with a further three points, Kilkenny's reaction was to go for the jugular. In the 61st minute, after a terrible sideline cut from Kevin Martin went no more than 10 yards, Stephen Grehan pounced on the ball and passed to Carter who became supplier by setting John Hoyne clear. He rammed home Kilkenny's third goal and, that, effectively, was that.
Kilkenny - 3-21 H Shefflin 1-6, four frees; C Carter 0-6; E Brennan 1-2; J Hoyne 1-0; J Power 0-2; E Kennedy 0-2, frees; P Larkin 0-1; DJ Carey 0-1; A Comerford 0-1.
Offaly - 0-18 J Dooley 0-9, six frees; B Murphy 0-2; R Hanniffy 0-2; J Troy 0-2; G Hanniffy 0-1; C Cassidy 0-1; J Errity 0-1, free.
Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).
Attendance: 45,475.
