Updated 9.57
1. Dublin take major step forward
Ending a 71-year drought is always a pivotal moment for a side. Kilkenny are the benchmark in Leinster senior hurling but since 1942 Dublin have come up short in championship clashes against them.
That sums up how momentous last night’s victory was for Dublin as a hurling county, irrespective of the injuries that weakened Kilkenny’s challenge. And in the life cycle of this Dublin side under the guidance of Anthony Daly, this was a hugely significant feat.
Their championship win over Wexford in 2009 was a major step at that time and the league final against Kilkenny in 2011 brought about silverware in Croke Park.
Yet last night’s success surpassed those achievements and was all the more striking as they shredded the notion that an underdog who fails to topple favorites in a drawn game will regret that in a replay.
2. Kilkenny count the loss of key figures
We spoke last week about how Kilkenny were hampered by the absence of key components in their side. They just managed to survive in the drawn game despite those losses but could not stay alive for the second time in six days.
Paul Murphy’s loss was keenly felt in the manner in which David O’Callaghan danced around the Kilkenny rearguard for some beautiful early points. Jackie Tyrrell played but has endured recent fitness struggles and they lost Cillian Buckley to injury during the first-half.
While the shape and direction of their team in midfield and attack is obviously affected by the losses of Shefflin-Fennelly axis. Stripped of all that quality, Kilkenny did not have the resources to cope.
3. Dublin’s defence shut down the space to Kilkenny
They may have conceded 16 points and may have conceded a few too needless frees for their manager’s liking but essentially Dublin can be pleased with their defensive showing last night.
Consider that 75% of Kilkenny’s scores came from Eoin Larkin and all of those were placed balls. Dublin only shipped four points from play and Richie Power grabbed two of those. They kept Walter Walsh – who plundered 1-4 scoreless – and managed the same with Richie Hogan and TJ Reid.
Indeed they saw both Walsh and Reid substituted while Gary Maguire’s goalmouth was protected as a clean sheet was recorded. The ferocious work ethic of the Dublin players was crucial as they withdrew bodies to clog their defence and frustrate Kilkenny while Liam Rushe was immense at centre-back.
4. Dublin’s battle-hardened state in 2013
2012 lurched from one dejecting experience to another for Dublin as they were hammered by Galway in the relegation league final replay, were tossed aside by Kilkenny in Leinster and spilled a sizable lead against Clare in the qualifiers.
This year they may have been a team who prompted Ger Loughnane to describe their hurling as ‘constipated’ a few weeks back but the most prominent theme is how battle-hardened they have become in getting results without scaling heights.
They showed that in pipping Limerick to win the Division 1B league final. They dug out a draw against Wexford and finishing the job in the replay. They took Kilkenny to the wire last Sunday. And they rounded it off with last night’s famous win as Danny Sutcliffe’s well-taken goal separated the teams.
5. The consequences for the championship
Given all the gloom surrounding the gaps in standards in Gaelic football, the hurling championship continues to be refreshing. Over the next two weekends, there will be two truly novel provincial finals.
The Leinster clash is the first ever that features Dublin against Galway while only once in the last 16 years have Kilkenny not contested it. The Munster tie is the first between Limerick and Cork since 1992 while it’s the first since 1999 that will not feature either Tipperary or Waterford.
And before all that there is the best showdown in the history of the hurling qualifiers next Saturday in Nowlan Park. Kilkenny and Tipperary in a knockout clash on the first Saturday in July is a fascinating prospect.
Article originally published at 8am
