Reigning champions Kilkenny weren't really tested as they cantered to an emphatic 2-24 to 0-12 Leinster semi-final victory over Offaly at O'Moore Park. This was the holders' first outing in the 2008 championship and Brian Cody's men had 18 points to spare, without ever over-extending themselves. The gulf in class was all too apparent as Joe Dooley's team struggled to hold onto the Cats' coat tails. Kilkenny were hardly at their best in the first half but Martin Comerford's injury-time goal and seven strikes from the returning Henry Shefflin gave them a 1-9 to 0-6 interval advantage. Generally, the underdogs coped well with the dangerous Cats inside forwards in that opening period but they were under incessant pressure and conceded more frees than they'd have liked, while the damn was finally broken by Comerford's late goal blast. Henry Shefflin (who finished the day with eleven points) announced his return to the intercounty stage with two points inside the opening four minutes - the second from a free - and Brian Carroll notched the challengers' first score from a seventh-minute free. Shefflin tagged on a ninth-minute free and his fourth point - another free - five minutes later - made it 0-4 to 0-1. Cha Fitzpatrick added his county's fifth score and Offaly were dealt a blow when midfielder James Rigney was forced out of the game after only 15 minutes, having suffered two early knocks. Kevin Brady was the replacement. The defending provincial and national kingpins led by four with quarter of the game played, 0-5 to 0-1. Carroll uncharacteristically dropped his 65 short into Michael Ryan's grasp but Derek Molloy did better for the Faithfuls when he intercepted a pass, beat two men, and split the posts with aplomb, 0-2 to 0-5. Rory Hanniffy added another super Offaly point following good play from Ger Oakley and Coolderry's Carroll then knocked over the best point of the game so far when skinning Jackie Tyrrell to score from an acute angle on 22 minutes. Offaly dealt admirably with some frenzied Kilkenny attacks and Eoin Larkin did well to clip over the Noresiders' first point in ten fractured minutes. With nine minutes left in the first half, Offaly introduced Joe Bergin for Paul Cleary but a needless free presented Shefflin with the chance to stretch the gap to three. The best hurler in the country did not disappoint: 0-7 to 0-4 with half an hour gone. Though the Offaly full back line had stood firm in first-half normal time, Shefflin won a free off David Franks and proceeded to tap over his sixth score. Brendan Murphy sent an Offaly goal effort wide but, at the other end, Shefflin picked out Martin Comerford who fiercely drove an unstoppable shot to the Faithful net in stoppage time. There was still time for Carroll and Sheffin to exchange frees and Bergin skied a fine score from play to close the first-half scoring. The second half was a one-sided procession. The clouds opened at Portlaoise for the start of the second half. Eddie Brennan and Comerford both hit points when they had goal chances and Shefflin boomed over his eighth from a wide angle out on the right wing - 1-12 to 0-6. On 42 minutes, Shefflin struck another free and Michael Rice followed up with the Cats' fifth successive score since the restart. Bergin had notched the Faithful County's last point of the first half and he also supplied their first of the second - a calm finish in the 44th minute. Shefflin, Rice and Brennan all added to the burgeoning Cats tally by the 50th minute as daylight appeared between the teams on the scoreboard, 1-17 to 0-7. Larkin and Richie Hogan piled further misery on the tricolour-clad opposition to extend the gap to a whopping 15 points with three-quarters of the match played. Offaly were dead and buried long before Michael Fennelly delivered a classy long-range point and Carroll got his side's second point of the second half only seconds short of the hour. Substitute Aidan Fogarty improvised impressively to strike the winners' second goal, followed by a rapid exchange between Carroll and Larkin. Ger Healion, TJ Reid, Shefflin, Larkin, Joe Brady and Carroll closed the scoring in a largely one-sided affair. Kilkenny - PJ Ryan; M Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, J Dalton; J Fitzpatrick (0-1), M Fennelly (0-1); M Comerford (1-1), M Rice (0-2), E Brennan (0-2); R Hogan (0-1), E Larkin (0-4), H Shefflin (0-11, 9f, 1'65'). Subs - A Fogarty (1-0) for Comerford, W O'Dwyer for Rice, PJ Delaney for B Hogan, TJ Reid (0-1) for R Hogan, R Mullally for Fennelly. Offaly - B Mullins; D Franks, D Kenny, M Verney; D Horan, G Oakley, R Hanniffy (0-1); J Rigney, C Mahon; B Murphy, P Cleary, D Molloy (0-1); B Carroll (0-6, 2f, 1'65'), G Healion (0-2), D Hayden. Subs - K Brady for Rigney, J Bergin (0-2) for Cleary, S Dooley for Murphy, J Brady for Hayden, S Ryan for Mahon. Ref - J Sexton (Cork) Tweet

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