Gaelic Games

Hurling previews: Cork can be relied on to make a match of it but can they be trusted to win?

Judgment Day for Rebels with Limerick in town and stakes also high in Leinster for Dublin and Antrim

Barry Nash of Limerick in action with Cork's Patrick Horgan and Brian Hayes during last year's championship clash at the TUS Gaelic Grounds when Limerick won by a point. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Barry Nash of Limerick in action with Cork's Patrick Horgan and Brian Hayes during last year's championship clash at the TUS Gaelic Grounds when Limerick won by a point. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Seán Moran
Sat May 11 2024 - 06:00
Saturday

Leinster SHC

Carlow v Kilkenny, Netwatch Cullen Park, 4.30 [Live GAAGO] – Carlow have given good account of themselves in the round-robin to date, following up on a battling display against Galway with a big push on Dublin, who emerged as five-point winners only after heroics from Seán Brennan between the posts and a streaky goal they scored themselves.

Here Tom Mullally prepares for the visit of his own county and, in good news for Carlow, he recalls to the panel centrefielder James Doyle, who has recovered from an injury, sustained in the league Division 2A final against Laois, for his first championship involvement of the season.

This will be the acid test for Carlow. Of all the counties in Leinster, Kilkenny are the most relentless. Missing four starters, they went to Galway and did enough to win, only to be hauled back for a still creditable draw. Of the injured quartet, just Eoin Murphy is back for this weekend. Verdict: Kilkenny

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Dublin v Antrim, Parnell Park, 4.0 – A match that has assumed great significance in the past week is peculiarly not being shown live while a less consequential tie in Carlow is being streamed live. Antrim’s win over Wexford has been followed by a big victory for the latter against Galway – for the first time in Leinster – leaving both of these teams eyeing up potential advancement.

Each of them were involved in Wexford’s disastrous start to the championship, Dublin by picking their pocket for two injury-time goals to get a draw in Chadwick’s Wexford Park and Antrim, who overcame a seven-point deficit in the second half at Corrigan Park, finally getting ahead with Niall McKenna’s well-taken goal.

There has been little between these teams in the past year. Twelve months ago, Micheál Donoghue’s team were blessed to get a draw in Belfast and repeated the dose with a one-point win in the league last February.

Dublin have, however, tended to do better at home and had a big win here three years ago. Injuries have cleared up and they will fancy themselves to cope with James McNaughton, Conal Cunning and Keelan Molloy in Antrim’s attack, at the same time chiselling out enough chances for a fast attack to take advantage and Dónal Burke to deliver from placed balls. Verdict: Dublin

Munster SHC

Cork v Limerick, SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 7.0 [Live, GAAGO] – If we accept that Limerick have yet to hit top gear, how far off are they? This is the evening to find out. A near capacity crowd in Cork, desperate to suspend the apparently inevitable departure from the championship of the home team, and a bunch of players who must be sick of all the negativity. This has tended to be a significant fixture in the era of the round-robin.

Six years ago, Limerick’s draw when down to 14 men after Aaron Gillane’s red card announced their arrival as contenders. In 2022, smarting from the previous year’s All-Ireland annihilation, Cork put up little more than early resistance to the champions on a wet and windy Easter Sunday. This will have more of the smack of summer about it.

When pondering the dismissal of Cork against Limerick, one is always reminded of 2019 when they visited the home of the new champions immediately after being well beaten at home by Tipperary and somehow won – catnip for the traditionalist view that Cork never fear their western neighbours.

That was also the last win before four defeats, some, like the 2021 All-Ireland, quite traumatic.

Of more relevance maybe is what happened a year ago when Limerick won by a point, just about escaping elimination. For John Kiely’s team that continued a gradual improvement that incrementally gained them enough altitude to clear successively rising peaks.

So far, Limerick have done well in the sense that they now have four points from fixtures that yielded them one in 2023 but there has been an air of serendipity about the matches, from Clare’s meltdown to Tipp’s no show.

They have also lost one of their most valuable players, Peter Casey, to a season-ending injury, which is bound to affect their attack. They also have proved vulnerable to relentless pressing, such as Clare executed in Ennis even if the home team ended up looking drained of energy and suffering a 12-point turnaround in the final quarter.

Cork have their own problems. Ciarán Joyce, their indisputable first choice centre back is injured and their play has been marred by lapses in concentration and discipline.

More damagingly, the team has acquired a reputation of not being able to see contestable matches over the line – something nobody ever says about the champions. Verdict: Limerick

Seán Moran

Seán Moran

Seán Moran is GAA Correspondent of The Irish Times