No shocks in provincial hurling finals
Waterford referee Thomas Walsh and David Blanchfield of Kilkenny during Saturday's Leinster SHC Final in Croke Park. Photo: Inpho.
Limerick looked back to their awesome best when beating Clare on Sunday last.
Brian Lohan’s men were always going to be the side that would ask questions of the champions and that was the case. Clare had goal chances that, if taken, might have changed the course of the game but even then Limerick would probably have found a way, as they always do, to stay on track for another record breaking season.
We thought we would never see another side like Brian Cody’s Kilkenny of the noughties but this Limerick side looks set to surpass even their achievements with just two more games to play and once again Kilkenny could be the team facing them in the final.
The atmosphere appeared electric, despite the power failure, in Semple Stadium on Sunday as Clare came with serious intent and no little confidence. Once again, Lohan’s side gave everything, asked all the questions but Limerick had the answers.
Meanwhile, in Croke Park on Saturday, the wheels came off the Dublin bus as Eoin Cody’s early goal set the scene for a one sided Leinster final that left questions as to whether Kilkenny are as good as they looked or were Dublin simply that bad.
Limerick and Kilkenny can sit back while the remaining provincial championship losers battle it out to reach the semi-finals with Clare and Cork looking favourites to challenge them.
Well done to Modeligo man, Thomas Walsh, and his team of officials who did a fine job in handling Saturday evening’s contest in front of over 35,000 in HQ.
Probably the most exciting game of last weekend was the Joe McDonagh Cup final that saw near neighbours Offaly and Laois going head to head with Offaly holding out for victory over wasteful opponents.
The hurling here was of a high standard and if anything Laois looked the better team. It was a great win for Offaly who will now relish the visit of Cork to Tullamore next Saturday in a preliminary quarter final. It is ironic that Laois, despite losing on Saturday and destined for the Joe McDonagh Cup next year will have a chance to advance to a MacCarthy Cup quarter final when they face Wexford in Portlaoise.
Wexford’s up and down Leinster campaign that saw them lose to Antrim and to Westmeath the previous year suggests that this could be a banana skin if they are not careful.
As things stand it is very much on the cards that on beating Offaly on Saturday Cork will have too much for Dublin in the quarter-final and so advance to a semi-final showdown with Limerick hoping to repeat their earlier victory over the champions in Cork. Wexford will be expected to advance and meet Clare with the winners then playing Kilkenny. There is still much to play for but Limerick appear to hold all the cards.
Meanwhile we in Waterford can only ponder on how different it all would have been but for a ’65 decision in Ennis.
The finals in almost all of the All County Football Leagues take place this week with the teams who committed to the competitions taking their places in the finals. The hurling league finals will most likely take place the following weeks prior to the start of the championships. A feature of the leagues each year is the number of games that are conceded and the teams that withdraw after a game or two.
In the football league Division 1 was the only division in which there was no walkover or concession. There were fewer walkovers or concessions in the hurling leagues but the whole question of the value of the leagues should be looked at again.
The Division 1 hurling final has Mount Sion in the final awaiting the result of this evening’s clash between Roanmore and Abbeyside to see who their opponents will be. If Roanmore win by more than six points they will face their city rivals in the final but failing to do so it will be a Ballygunner/Mount Sion final.
Last weekend Mount Sion beat Passage in their final league game with both clubs declining to field their senior sides ahead of their first round meeting in the senior championship though a win for Passage would have seen them into the league final. Last year the league final was decided on the championship fixture between Ballygunner and Passage.
There remains a compelling case to run the leagues/championships on the Kilkenny model, something that was proposed some years ago, providing meaningful competition in both.
