Keher says Wexford will carry day

Eddie Keher has more than a sneaking suspicion that hurling followers, outside of Tipperary that is, will be granted their wish of the "dream" All-Ireland final between Wexford and Clare on September 14th.

Widely admired for his craft and scoring flair in Kilkenny attacks over three decades, Keher contends that the Wexford defence will prove too strong for a Tipperary attack that is very much "on trial once again" in Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final.

Keher backs up his view with a prediction of what will happen at the other end of the pitch. "I believe that the Wexford forwards will shade it sufficiently over the Tipperary to win the match."

Keher's respect for the Wexford defenders was greatly enhanced in the Leinster final during which DJ Carey's scoring exploits were trimmed to a single point, from a free. John Power held scoreless on the same occasion.

Keher sees the individual duel on the `40' between Declan Ryan and Liam Dunne as the key battle in the `war' between the Wexford defence and the Tipperary forwards.

The former Kilkenny wizard expects Wexford to win both the war and this battle, which he stresses will be worth watching. "It will be crucial. Liam will be conceding height and weight. Declan is also coming into the form that is expected of him. He has been more consistent this year, but Liam Dunne is a tough little man."

John Leahy's selection at left half forward on the Tipperary team has no great significance, Keher believes. "I wonder will he start there?" he asks. "If I was with Tipp I would have him across on the other wing. However, Rod Guiney would be sure to follow him there anyway."

Analysing the Tipperary attack, Keher says: "Like Kilkenny, Tipperary have been trying to put a solid unit together. They have a unit together now that is probably their best, but they have not been tested yet. Against the Wexford defence they will be given their first big test. I don't think that Tipperary have been totally happy with their forward set-up. They have been making a lot of changes. "Wexford are a more settled team, although I feel that should Gary Laffan fail to make it he would be a huge loss to them," says Keher.

Keher says that had he not met and come to know the Wexford players during functions to mark their All-Ireland success last year he would be concerned about the pressures that are constantly on the team - largely applied by their own supporters.

"I have no doubt that they are well able to cope with the expectations of their followers," he asserts.

"What struck me most about them was the way they have kept their feet well and truly on the ground. They struck me as a solid group of players, a solid bunch of guys well focused on success," adds Keher.

The former Kilkenny player is not too pleased with the way both Kilkenny and Tipperary have are been constantly reminded of the `back door syndrome', the change in the format which allowed them to win through to the All-Ireland semi-finals despite losing in their provinces.

"Kilkenny voted against it and they have been taking a lot of stick since beating Galway. All the adverse talk about it is, significantly, being hyped up by counties who went through the `legitimate' way."

Keher holds the record as Kilkenny's top scorer in an All-Ireland final, with 2-11. The top scorer in a decider is Tipperary's Nicky English. He notched 2-12 against Antrim in the 1989 final.

Another Nicky, of a different era, the illustrious Nicky Rackard, holds the highest individual scoring record for a match in the All-Ireland series. He scored 7-7 of Wexford's 12-17 tally against Antrim (who scored 2-3) in the 1954 semi-final. Tipperary and Wexford have met in five All-Ireland finals, but never before in an All-Ireland semi-final.

Tipperary shade those five final meetings 3-2, their wins coming in 1951 (the last of their three in-a-row), 1962 and 1965.

Wexford won in 1960 and 1968. They have never recorded more than two All-Ireland victories in-a-row. They beat Galway in 1955 and Cork in 1956. In those five All-Ireland final meetings, Tipperary had an aggregate score of 15-56 (101 points) and Wexford 12-53 (89 points).

Tipperary's last three in-a-row ended in 1951 and in the finals they beat Laois (1949), Kilkenny (1950) and Wexford (1951). This was Tipperary's second three in-a-row - the first was attained between 1898 and 1900. Only three counties, Tipperary, Cork and Dublin, have won the All-Ireland senior hurling title in two centuries.

The prospects of Sunday's clash ending with a high aggregate score are considerable, but it is unlikely to surpass the 1951 final score of 7-7 (Tipperary) to 3-9 (Wexford) - totalling 46 points.