Leinster club hurling championship:James Stephens 2-13 Oulart-the-Ballagh 0-14 Having teetered precariously in the first half, James Stephens steadied themselves to reach the Leinster final.
The Kilkenny champions rode their luck but from the moment the second goal went in at the end of the third quarter, they were able to dust themselves down and produce a fluent period of dominance to kill off their Wexford counterparts.
As a variety of snappily dispatched points rained over the Oulart bar it was as if the apparent crisis of confidence that marked their early play had never happened.
The Wexford champions have had a strangely underachieving time of it in the province since they started winning county titles 10 years ago. For a time it looked as if that was being rectified but with the two goals conceded when they could cause maximum disruption, the challenge proved too steep.
By James Stephens' own reckoning they lost the first half 30-70 and had failed to take serviceable scoring chances but yet survived into the break on level terms. Initially Oulart were defending so capably their opponents' attack was already showing four switches midway through the first half and if one of the changes was triggered by the wounding early loss of midfielder Jackie Tyrrell with concussion, the Kilkenny side weren't functioning up front and went at one stage 17 minutes without a score.
Eoin Larkin, who again finished the afternoon with a sackful of scores and another man-of-the-match memento, started unpromisingly on Liam Dunne who controlled traffic from the heart of the Oulart defence.
Larkin had to switch to full forward but he made a triumphant return in the second half.
In their attack, by contrast, the Wexford side were lively with corner forward Des Mythen winning nearly everything directed his way and varying his shots between some showcase points and great cross-field passes, two of which set up Martin Storey for points.
They took time to get going and their opponents' defence made it hard with Philip Larkin particularly sticky at centre back but at 0-7 to 0-3, Oulart had established a deserved grip on the scoreboard with minutes left in the first half. In the space of five minutes, that had evaporated.
Brian McEvoy experienced resistance in his clash with Anthony O'Leary but got away for two characteristic, driving runs, both of which brought goals. In the 29th minute he sent David McCormack in on goal. The corner forward's pass was flicked into the net by Eoin Larkin.
"It was a great time to get it, just before half-time, that kills teams - and goals win matches," said Larkin afterwards.
"We had been struggling to get into the game," said McEvoy, "and the goal kept us in it. We were delighted to be level at half-time because we hadn't been hurling."
Oulart's hint of a swagger had been eliminated by the comeback but four shared points in the 14 minutes after the break kept the match swaying in the balance.
Then a failure to clear the ball allowed McEvoy to get running again. He let go a manageable shot on goal, which Paul Dempsey - who had made a fine save from Richie Hayes in the first half - just pushed away. In the ruck that followed, Gary Whelan scrambled the ball into the net.
The catch on the floodgates could almost be heard clicking open as Eoin Larkin found his range and cracked over three points in little more than a minute. Oulart were now six points adrift of a match they had been disappointed to be only drawing five minutes earlier.
The goals that would have provided a lifeline agonisingly failed to materialise. Paul Finn couldn't pick the ball on a run-in to goal in the 51st minute and Francis Cantwell sprang acrobatically to keep out Rory Jacob's shot five minutes later.
Without at least one green flag Oulart couldn't make significant inroads on the deficit. It was a disappointing end to Storey's distinguished senior career. He was wistful about it.
"We let in two scrappy goals. The second was a melee and I don't think anyone would have complained if a throw-in was given but it ended up as a goal." Confirming his intention to retire, he cracked a joke and allowed himself a little optimism about the club's future.
"Some people might be wondering what I was doing out there in the first place. There's some great young players coming through. I wish I was 30 instead of 40."
JAMES STEPHENS: F Cantwell; D Cody, M Phelan, D Grogan; P Barry, P Larkin, P Butler; J Tyrrell, B McEvoy (0-1); J Murphy, E Larkin (1-7, three frees), G Whelan (1-2); E McCormack (0-1), R Hayes (0-1), D McCormack. Subs: J Murray (0-1) for Tyrrell (5 mins); M Ruth for Butler (45 mins); J Mernagh for Murphy (61 mins).
OULART THE BALLAGH: P Dempsey; J Roche, K Rossiter, P Roche; A Kavanagh, L Dunne (0-2, one 65), P Redmond; A O'Leary (0-2), D Stamp; S Doyle (0-1), M Storey (0-3), D Mythen (0-3); R Jacob (0-1), P Finn, M Jacob (0-2, frees). Subs: L Prendergast for P Roche (53 mins); N Kirwan for Finn (55 mins); D Nolan for Redmond (58 mins).
Referee: P Aherne (Carlow).
