Inside Track
Hurling’s mad-cap summer proves a breath of fresh air
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IT’S not much more than eight weeks ago when there appeared to be an almost collective resignation about the outcome of this year’s All-Ireland hurling championship. Kilkenny and Tipperary had just served up another battle royale in the National League final at Nowlan Park with Michael Fennelly’s storming individual performance powering the Cats to glory in a high intensity contest.
Nobody could have imagined back then what was about to unfold in what has proven an electrifying championship so far. In fact, the title race has been blown apart with shock results littering the summer hurling landscape. Three of the four favourites for the Liam McCarthy Cup didn’t even reach their provincial finals, while two Division 1B teams have qualified for the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway and an emerging Clare had been perceived as the teams with the greatest firepower. After all, Limerick had failed – again – to emerge from the second division of the league; a callow Cork were relegated; Dublin were crucified by Tipp in the league semi-final in Thurles; gallant Waterford were perceived as being in decline; while Offaly and Wexford were so far off the pace, they hardly merited consideration in the context of winning titles.
But the first real indication that the 2013 championship was going to buck the trends of the past decade or so was Offaly having the temerity to score four goals – and concede none – against Kilkenny in the opening round of the provincial title race in Tullamore. With Henry Shefflin still injured and a few of their other marquee names struggling for form, suddenly some fault lines were being exposed in their ranks. The injuries began to mount too for the champions, but they were still expected to take care of Dublin in the subsequent Leinster semi-final.
After a disastrous year in 2012 and falling heavily in the league semi-final last April, the critics thought the Dubs were a busted flush and that assessment wasn’t hard to justify. But two tough battles in overcoming an admittedly moderate Wexford outfit had steeled Liam Rush and company for Kilkenny. They ought to have won in Portlaoise the first day – an injury time TJ Reid point saving the title holders – but they finished the job in the replay with Danny Sutcliffe netting the all important goal.
On the other side of the draw, Galway were in among the minnows but a defensively set up Laois caused them too many problems for comfort last month. They were still strong favourites to see off Dublin in the provincial final, but the Tribesmen were only a pale shadow of the team which had taken Kilkenny apart on the same occasion 12 months previously. Only Joe Canning and Shane Kavanagh, ironically the one player who hadn’t featured in the league, really measured up on the day, although substitutes Andy Smith, Damien Hayes and Aidan Harte did add some ballast to the team’s sails. It still couldn’t prevent a 12 point drubbing as a revitalised Dublin celebrated a first Leinster crown since 1961.
Over in Munster, there was similar upheaval. Tipperary, who we now all have to accept are lacking the physicality and primary ball winners to build on their epic All-Ireland triumph of 2010, collapsed in the closing stages against a typically fire and brimstone Limerick challenge, while Cork put paid to the provincial ambitions of a wasteful Clare in the other semi-final. It all cleared the way for the first Munster final between the Shannonsiders and the Rebels since 1992.
Not surprisingly, the Gaelic Grounds was packed to the rafters last Sunday and the match was still on a knife edge when Pat Horgan was harshly dismissed moments before half-time. The teams were deadlocked at ten points each, but the sweltering heat was always going to make it extra hard for the 14 Cork players to survive and they could manage five points in the second-half as Limerick, driven on by their passionate supporters, powered to a first Munster title since 1996.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.
You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.
There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.
To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.
Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.
Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.
All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.
In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.
Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.
In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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