Limerick's armoury looks strong enough to triumph

A passage of monumental importance presents itself to both counties here. There is a sense that, before tomorrow's throw-in, both these sides eyeball one another as if from passing carriages, Limerick's in the ascendant and Wexford's on a disheartening journey to the lowlands of hurling.

For them, it is imperative that the slide is arrested here. One inspiring hour can rejuvenate an entire season - their opponents illustrated that in June against Cork. For Limerick, it is equally essential to capitalise on the sudden discovery of potency and belief that has revitalised the game there.

It is possible that the demoralising affect that the recent Kilkenny mauling reaped on Wexford was partly ameliorated by the county's under-21 victory the following Wednesday. While that spells promise for the future, the immediate task is worrying.

In the face of Kilkenny's relentlessness, it was the troopers from '96 - Liam Dunne, Damien Fitzhenry, Adrian Fenlon and, prior to a banjaxed toe, Larry O'Gorman - that manned the front-line for Wexford.

The prodigal Darren Stamp flickered inconsistently and the hope will be that both he and fellow under-21 man Trevor Kelly announce themselves tomorrow. Wexford need scorers. Limerick looks the more cohesive force. The return of James Moran is a big plus for Eamonn Cregan and his partnership at midfield with Ciarβn Carey could have a major bearing. Newcomer Nicky Lambert faces a testing debut in the company of that pair.

The Kilkenny failure is perhaps too stark an indictment of the state of Wexford right now. While they were comprehensively outplayed, it ought to be observed that they got absolutely no breaks and were winded by the timing of Kilkenny's goals. The collective confidence of their back line was shaved away by the timbre of champion's front three.

Cregan must have a few minor worries about his scorers. Wides hindered them dearly against Tipperary at the start of the month. Bigger bounties are required from Begley, Foley and Butler. Also, Limerick was rewarded with 1-3 from a debut man, Seβn O'Connor last time out, a dream return from a newcomer. Without his contribution, the green and white armoury would have been less convincing. It is encouraging to see Tony Dempsey sprinkle his team with youth, a tactic that has yielded notable rewards elsewhere in the past few seasons. If they measure up, we can expect significantly more brio to the Wexford argument.

And Limerick, despite dispensing big hits this summer, are still a work in progress. But the scant and painful recent summers have hardened them and now that they have sniffed the truth of winning, they will be hard stopped here. Their rearguard is evolving into a teak unit, the midfield pair is proven and Cregan has the nous and personnel to shuffle a good performance from the front ranks.

They will prevail.