Another symbolic night in Donnycarney as U21s write latest chapter in Dublin's hurling rise - and secure first provincial U21 doubleTHE day might yet come when Dublin can rattle off Leinster hurling titles as a matter of course for a small ball aristocrat but for now, each piece of glistening provincial silverware represents a small step on the ladder to that same destination.

Dublin's under-21 captain and goalkeeper, Finn McGarry, clearly captured the mood of the progressive force that is Dublin hurling in Parnell Park last night just before he raised Dublin's second Leinster title at the grade in four years, exclaiming: "Come on the revolution!"

A 2-15 to 0-15 win over Wexford may represent the sort of com- fortable-ish Dublin victory many presumed -- but for 59 of the 60 minutes, Dublin were anything but.

For Dublin, the problem with beating Kilkenny at any grade is that the intensity of expectation raises to near unbearable levels. Wexford were largely unrated going into last night's match, a dangerous cubbyhole to place the Slaneysiders.

There was, controversially, no Rory O'Carroll. David Treacy went into the match short of gametime and who was to say how exactly any of the Dublin senior contingent would handle their second big match in just four days following last Saturday's senior victory over Clare?

Finals are for winning, though, and even if Dublin never hit the soaring highs of the Kilkenny win in Nowlan Park, they were still deserving Leinster champions by the end.

The maxim that 'goals win games' was never so accurate or effective from a Dublin point of view.

On 51 minutes, with Wexford dominating a couple of key battles and edging out to two points ahead, Dublin seemed to be sinking and the nagging feeling which grew right through the first half that they would need a goal to prevail became fact.

As is often the case in big matches, the match-winner came not from any of Dublin's marquee names but St Brigid's flyer, Daire Plunkett.

All evening, Plunkett had threatened to make a game-defining break and with nine minutes remaining, he proved his timing is as good as his finishing with one flash towards the Wexford goal.

David Treacy -- who, encouragingly for Dublin's seniors, got through the full four last night -- poked a neat ball down the line from a crowd of ravenous Wexford defenders into Plunkett's welcoming hand.

TURBO-CHARGERS

Instinctively, he took his man on, hit the turbo-chargers and burned towards goal before kicking sweetly into the Wexford net.

As game-turning moments go, this one was decisive but for his next trick, Plunkett dispossessed Eoin Moore and clipped a fine point to send Dublin two clear.

The impressive Shane Tompkins pulled one back when he cut through the heart of the Dublin rearguard but a blast of three unanswered points, featuring a spectacular score from Liam Rushe after an audacious flick to send two Wexford players the wrong way, saw Richie Stakelum's Dublin side facing for home.

Substitute, David Quinn latched on to a cross-goal pass from Ciarán Brennan, after Aodhán McEnerney's fresh-air swipe, to put a misleading tint on the end scoreline.

By that stage, Dublin's early shortcomings were a distant memory but it wasn't looking too good until that spell.

Dublin were seemingly stuck in the mud in the first half, shackled by nerves or pressure or maybe a cocktail of both.

Either way, the men in the blue shirts were strangely timid and allowed a couple of Wexford's key players to dominate their battle and influence the game.

Liam Óg McGovern is quite obviously an exciting prospect but it's unlikely he will have such a profitable half of intercounty hurling as he enjoyed in the opening 30 minutes in Parnell Park last night.

Peter Kelly, Dublin's hero of a fortnight ago in Nowlan Park, was marked absent for a number of early balls which quite literally fell at McGovern's feet and he scythed through to clip four first-half points. This, after hoovering a rake of breaking ball around the middle.

Eventually, Robert O'Loughlin was moved across to attempt to get to grips with McGovern and Kelly would finish with a tour de force but the warning signs were there in living colour for the Dublin line.

Wexford's other star performer, Andrew Shore, was utterly dominant in the air at centre-back and it forced a tactical rethink from Dublin.

All of Dublin's puck outs inside the first 20 minutes were directed at Rushe but it took him all of 45 minutes, and at least three positional changes, to escape the shackles and make a positive contribution.

Dublin shot four late first-half wides to trail by a point -- 0-8 to 0-7 -- at the break but a number of players stood up to be counted thereafter.

Barry O'Rorke's switch to midfield worked a treat while Niall McMorrow did a serious bit of foraging from a deeper brief and ended with three points from play but it took an age for the Dubs to change their policy of merely launching the ball from deep rather than looking for a man.

McMorrow's purple patch and an increased period of productivity from Treacy kept Dublin afloat early in the second-half before Plunkett's flourish set Dublin on their way.

It's Galway next in four weeks, a match which carries with it a whole heap of unknowns but on the basis of their entire Leinster campaign, Dublin are better equipped now than their last provincial title four years ago to mount a serious All-Ireland assault.

- Conor McKeon