THEN THERE WERE EIGHT..
We assess the last men standing in quest for Liam Maccarthy Cup
AND all of a sudden there are just nine matches to go as the Senior Hurling Championship is placed into cold storage for a fortnight.
With Limerick having to go to war in every game, the playing field looks wide open.
Here, we take a look at the lie of the land and the eight sides still left standing ahead of the real business.
Their two biggest concerns are the shoulder injury suffered by Conor Cleary nine days ago and the knowledge of what happened to them after last year’s Munster final.
Adam Hogan at corner back has been a huge find and David
Fitzgerad has moved into the very top bracket of hurlers in the country.
Bar a freak first half in their opening Munster game, when they weren’t at Championship pace against Tipp and leaked three goals, they’ve been superb. However, the Munster final against Limerick will be another war. If you win, it guarantees an extra week’s rest. This is massive.
After last year’s extra-time Munster final defeat by Limerick, Clare were spent and showed great character to nip past Wexford, before being destroyed by a fresh Kilkenny in the All-ireland semi-final.
It could come down to what Clare have learned in terms of how to deal with the schedule ahead of them.
LIMERICK
IT felt like there was a flatness about Limerick after the exertions of last year’s Munster final.
Sean Finn is a huge loss and it’s rare you see Declan Hannon being taken off like he was last Sunday.
Limerick are far from firing on all cylinders, but they found a way to survive against Cork, and it’s in their DNA now to go to the final whistle.
If Gearoid Hegarty and Lynch spark they’re still favourites. Tom Morrissey has been outstanding.
Teams keep bringing war to John Kiely’s men, and although they’re the most aggressive side around, this has to take a toll.
Like Clare, if they lose the Munster final, it would make winning an All-ireland extremely challenging.
TIPPERARY
THEY probably took their eye off the ball against
Waterford, and with such a young and inexperienced team that have come out of nowhere, a day like that was inevitable.
It says a lot that after their recent draw with Limerick they were being spoken of as All-ireland contenders again, and justifiably so.
Gearoid O’connor looks a find and the same with Alan Tynan and Brian
O’meara. Rhys Shelly’s puckouts were excellent against Limerick.
The majestic Noel Mcgrath has been outstanding, and what Liam Cahill has got out of Jake Morris has been emblematic of their progress.
Injuries to Jason Forde and Morris are a major concern.
Cahill is getting a big tune out of warhorses Dan Mccormack and Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher who will thrive in an outfit where their team mates are all working as hard as they do.
Seamus Kennedy has shown some of his best form in a long time too.
Avoiding the Munster final might work out nicely for them. They face Offaly in a preliminary quarter-final in three weeks time, and then Kilkenny or Galway in a quarter-final.
KILKENNY
THEY’LL get that test they need against Galway in the Leinster final. The format and their familiarity with
Croke Park are big advantages to them. Look how fresh they were
when they blitzed Clare in last year’s All-ireland semi-final.
So it’s not just provincial silverware up for grabs against Galway. It’s the best path to an All-ireland as well – ducking a quarter-final.
Derek Lyng’s biggest concern is injuries. They’d lost Martin Keoghan, Mikey Butler and Adrian Mullen by the 25th minute of their loss to Wexford at the weekend. On top of this Paddy Deegan didn’t tog out and Richie Reid played no part.
There was nothing at stake against Wexford so they’ll brush that defeat off quickly.
As ever, they’ll take a lot of beating, but more support for Eoin Cody and TJ Reid is required.
GALWAY
STUMBLING along. They’ve come back from the dead twice to grab draws with
Kilkenny and Dublin.
But the standard of fare that saw them end up facing down the of the gun won’t please boss Henry Shefflin (inset), a relentless force of nature in his time.
Daithi Burke has been their rock, but they appear to be missing the leadership qualities of
David Burke, who is out for the season.
Like Kilkenny, their route to the last four is ideal and sets them up for a huge display when they get there.
They should have beaten Limerick in last year’s
All-ireland semi-final.
Right now, it doesn’t look like the fire power or intensity is there.
DUBLIN
SURPRISED many by powering clear of Galway before being reeled in.
Danny Sutcliffe is a big aerial threat in the half forward line and Cian O’sullivan is giving them an edge up front to go
with Donal Burke’s heavy scoring. Conor Burke is a big player at number six, but overall, the scoring power doesn’t seem to be there. A preliminary quarter-final against Carlow, and it’s one they should be wary of. They’ve fallen so many times to Munster opposition at the All-ireland quarter-final stage, and have rarely managed to be competitive. That’s the big challenge for Micheal Donoghue.
If they get past Carlow, they’ll meet a Clare or Limerick side that could be mentally and physically drained, but will they believe enough in themselves?
CARLOW
WILL be on a massive high after their
Joe
Mcdonagh extrabarrel
time triumph. They’ll see the Dublin preliminary quarter-final as a serious opportunity to take a scalp.
They also have three weeks to celebrate, come down and get back up again - invaluable if used properly.
They won’t fear Dublin either. Paddy Boland versus Eoghan O’donnell could be a huge battle, but Carlow have other score getters in Chris Nolan and Marty Kavanagh.
OFFALY
GOT the tougher preliminary quarter-final, pulling Tipperary over
Dublin.
Losing the Mcdonagh Cup final and failing to secure Leinster round robin and All-ireland hurling for 2024 a major blow.
But their under-20s are in an All-ireland final next weekend so the trajectory is still upwards.
The extra three weeks together are huge here, and they’ll look to Eoghan Cahill and Cillian Kiely to trouble a leaky Tipp defence.