Who? Kilkenny versus Dublin
Why? The Division 1 final of the Allianz National Hurling League
Where? Croke Park
When? Sunday, 4pm
As far as Dublin hurling is concerned, Sundays don’t get much bigger than this. Or at least they haven’t up until this point – who knows what the summer might hold?
Anthony Daly’s men enter this afternoon’s showdown chock-full of confidence and who can blame them? Having identified top-flight survival as the number one priority at the start of their league campaign, they find themselves at the tail end of April with only one defeat against their name.
Add to that the fact that they managed to overturn the All-Ireland Champions Tipperary under the Croke Park lights as well as miraculously salvaging a draw against today’s opponents and it becomes quite easy to understand why the Dubs slightly fancy their chances.
It is the boys in blue who will have been the happier following the 1-17 to 3-11 draw which both sides played out at the beginning of the month. For one thing, the result was a far cry from the 19-point drubbing which Brian Cody’s men handed out in last year’s Leinster Final.
Not only did Dublin manage to completely erase that margin, but they will feel that the drawn game is one which they would have won had it not been for their profligacy in shooting 17 wides.
Kilkenny, on the other hand, haven’t quite been at their awe-inspiring best so far this season. Yet they too only have one black mark in the losses column after seven games, that coming in the thrilling 4-14 to 3-13 defeat against Galway in Pearse Stadium.
One point which has been well-publicised in the run-up to this afternoon’s showdown is the absence of a raft of Kilkenny superstars. The Cats’ current injury list reads like a brief Who’s Who? of the game’s greats, present and future: Henry Shefflin, John Tennyson, Aidan Fogarty, Richie Power and Michael Fennelly. Maddeningly for every other hurling county in the land, last year’s All-Ireland runners-up still ooze class and experience even without these household names.
Speaking earlier this week, Brian Cody rubbished suggestions that his side still remain head-and-shoulders above the competition. It is obvious that the manager hugely respects their opponents today, despite the fact that the recent history of both counties could hardly be more dissimilar.
Dublin are certainly on the up, but if Kilkenny are at anything near their best – which is no guarantee – they should have just enough in hand to take the title.
The Bookies say? Kilkenny 4/9; Draw 10/1; Dublin 9/4
TheScore.ie says? Kilkenny by three or four points.
They say?
We’re in the final which is obviously a huge positive for us. We haven’t been really consistent or really convincing throughout the league.- Brian Cody, Kilkenny manager
Read Brian Cody’s conversation with TheScore.ie here >
Beating Kilkenny would be massive. It depends on what your history is, what you have done and what you haven’t done. I know for all our lads it is hugely important that we try and get a performance at the weekend.- Anthony Daly, Dublin manager
