hurling

Allianz Hurling League previews

11 February 2022 - 2:55PM

Limerick and Galway go head to head in Division 1 of the Allianz Hurling League this weekend.

Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A round 2

Saturday, February 12

Limerick v Galway, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 7pm - RTE2

Sunday, February 13

Clare v Wexford, Cusack Park, Ennis, 1.45pm (TG4)

Offaly v Cork, Bord na Mona O'Connor Park, 2pm (TG4 app, Deferred coverage on TG4 at 5.30pm)

All eyes will be on Limerick this weekend in Group A of Division 1 of the Allianz Hurling League as they seek to bounce back from a surprise defeat to Wexford last weekend.

It was only their fifth League defeat in 27 matches and all the more noteworthy for the fact they only managed to score 11 points over the course of the game.

Gearoid Hegarty was the only forward to score from play and a lot of Limerick’s shooting was uncharacteristically sloppy.

John Kiely will be demanding a strong reaction from his team on Saturday night, so this will be a good barometer of exactly where Galway are under new manager Henry Shefflin.

They played a lot of good hurling in their opening round win over Offaly with up and coming players like Thomas Monaghan and John Fleming really catching the eye.

Competitive animal that he is, Shefflin will be very keen his charges build on that encouraging start so expect Saturday evening’s game to be a serious contest.

There are also two Division 1 Group A matches on Sunday with Wexford playing Clare and Offaly playing Cork.

Wexford already look like a well-drilled outfit under new manager Darragh Egan if their win over Limerick is anything to go by.

The switched between a sweeper system and a more orthodox formation to good effect at different times in that match, and every player seemed to know what was required of him.

It’ll be interesting to see whether they can bring the same physical intensity to bear on this match because they expended a lot of energy against Limerick.

As for Clare, they were well beaten by Cork last time out and the priority will be to shore things up at the back.

They’ve plenty of scoring power in attack where Mark Rodgers, Cathal Malone, and Ryan Taylor all looked especially sharp in Round 1, but they need to make themselves a bit harder to play against around the middle third.

Offaly found the going tough against Galway last time out and it could be a similar story again on Sunday against a Cork team that seriously impressed against Clare.

Debutant Ciaran Joyce really caught the eye in midfield where he and partner Darragh Fitzgibbon hit a combined total of seven points from play.

Others like Mark Coleman, Shane Kingston, and Shane Barrett all showed up well too and the Rebels really look like a team in the mood to hit the ground running this year.

The Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A table.

Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B round 2

Saturday, February 12

Antrim v Dublin, Corrigan Park, 2pm – (BBC iPlayer/BBC Sport NI website/GAAGO)

Sunday, February 13

Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B round 2

Waterford v Laois, Walsh Park, 2pm

Tipperary v Kilkenny, FBD Semple Stadium, 3.45pm (TG4)

Dublin carried their strong Walsh Cup form into the first round of the Allianz Hurling League by battling to a well-deserved draw with Waterford last weekend.

They’re a hard-working, well-organised team under Mattie Kenny, and the priority for this League campaign will be to increase their average scores from play per match total.

Their form might be good, but Saturday’s trip to Antrim won’t be easy. The Saffrons are building nicely under Darren Gleeson and very nearly pulled off a smash and grab win over Kilkenny in Nowlan Park last weekend.

Corrigan Park is a tricky place to go to, and if they can match Dublin’s physicality in the middle third they’re capable of coming away with a win.

The pick of Sunday’s matches in Division 1 Group B is the meeting of old rivals Tipperary and Kilkenny.

Both teams won their first round matches against Laois and Antrim respectively, but didn’t exactly hurl up a storm.

Tipperary manager, Colm Bonnar, will be pleased with the early season form of Mark Kehoe and Craig Morgan because he really needs a couple of the younger guns to step up this year.

Dillon Quirke and James Quigley will be two more he’ll be keeping a close eye on as he tries to fill the defensive void left by the retirement of Paudie Maher and Brendan Maher.

As for Kilkenny, they’re currently missing their sizeable Ballyhale contingent so it would be unwise to read too much into their subdued performance against Antrim.

Martin Keoghan got them out of jail in that match and they’ll need a bigger spread of scorers on Sunday if they’re to come away from Semple Stadium with a win.

Waterford are another team missing a lot of front-line players due to Ballygunner’s club campaign so Liam Cahill will have been pleased enough with their performance against Dublin last time out.

A similar effort should be enough to secure a win over Laois, but the Midlanders did hurl really well for long stretches of their defeat to Tipp so shouldn’t be discounted.