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Pressure on Dublin to deliver title

LEINSTER UNDER-21 HURLING FINAL Dublin v Wexford Tonight throw-in – 7.30pm Parnell Park Live on TG4

Wed Jul 14 2010 - 01:00

LEINSTER UNDER-21 HURLING FINAL Dublin v WexfordTonight throw-in – 7.30pm Parnell Park Live on TG4

THE WEIGHT of expectation hangs on Dublin shoulders as they are widely tipped to beat Wexford at Parnell Park tonight.

Dublin beat tournament favourites Kilkenny 0-17 to 0-12 at Nowlan Park in the semi-final. In contrast opponents Wexford stumbled to a five-point victory over an unfancied Carlow.

Dublin captain Finn McGarry knows expectations of a home victory are high in the capital.

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“We probably are favourites. We just see it as being all about ourselves. We’d be saying the same if we were going to play Tipperary or whoever are favourites for the whole thing. We just want to go out and perform and we hope that’ll be good enough to beat anyone. It is a lot about performing ourselves. That’s our main focus at the moment.”

Dublin have been boosted by the last-minute availability of dual star Rory O’Carroll. Robert O’Loughlin had been named at centre back for tonight’s game, but that was before the Dublin County Board intervened to make sure O’Carroll – who is expected be on the Dublin football team to face Armagh on Saturday – was allowed to play with the under-21s.

Richard Stakelum may decide to go with the named team, which also has one change in the forward line, with Barry O’Rourke coming in for David Quinn.

“It’s not every day you get into the Leinster final,” said Wexford captain Eoin Doyle. “Wexford have been starved of silverware over the last couple of years but it only makes us hungrier for the win.”

Liam Rushe, Oisín Gough, Peter Kelly and David Treacy are all likely to line out for the Dublin senior hurlers on Saturday against Antrim at Croke Park.

Rushe is adamant those players are fully focused on tonight’s game and he believes securing silverware is essential for the good of hurling within the county.

“If we’re going to keep talking about development we’re going to have to start winning things somewhere. . . and we really want to seize this opportunity. What’s the point in beating Kilkenny, the favourites pretty much every year? We really need this.”

DUBLIN: F McGarry; R Walsh, D Kelly, O Gough; R OLoughlin, M Quilty, P Kelly; C Clinton, P Buckeridge; S Stapleton, L Rushe, D Plunkett; B ORourke, D Treacy, N McMorrow.

WEXFORD: M Fanning; B McCormack, M OHanlon, E Doyle; S Murphy, A Shore, M OHanlon; E Moore, M ORegan; L Óg McGovern, S Tomkins, H Kehoe; E Kent, J Gahan, J Reck.