Preview: Weekend’s Allianz Hurling League

Allianz Hurling League Division 1A

Saturday May 22

Tipperary v Galway, Semple Stadium, 1.30pm, TG4

Sunday May 23

Cork v Westmeath, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 3pm - GAAGO
Waterford v Limerick, Walsh Park, 3.45pm_ - TG4_

If ever a weekend of top class Allianz League action was set to start with a bang, it’s this weekend – first out of the blocks are the hurlers of Tipperary and Galway tomorrow in Semple Stadium, where Liam Sheedy will be hoping that his group can take the next step and turn two good draws in their first two games into a home win against an in-form Galway side.

Shane O’Neill has taken a hatchet rather than a scalpel to his team, drafting in an entire new full back line to the one that held Limerick to 1-17 last week, while also resting both Cathal Mannion and Evan Niland, who were playing incredible well at 9 and 11 respectively. Overall, the switches would suggest that Galway might be thinking about the bigger picture, rather than being entirely focused on putting their best foot forward tomorrow.

Westmeath will feel a lot better about their ability to compete in this elite company after putting in a very impressive performance against Waterford last week, but it certainly doesn’t get any easier for them this time around against Cork.

The Lake County’s best performance in the 2020 Allianz League came against the Rebels, albeit on that occasion they enjoyed home comfort in Mullingar, but they’ll feel that while they struggled to cope with Galway’s physicality and aerial power in round one, that wasn’t as much of an issue against a lighter Waterford side, and the same will apply in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

For their part, Waterford will have to try and batten down the hatches to hold off what’s likely to be a strong backlash from Limerick, who had their 14-match unbeaten run ended by Galway last week. This will be a hugely significant tie for Liam Cahill, who’ll want to see some evidence that his players have found a way to bridge the gap that was in evidence in last year’s All-Ireland final.

Galway (v Tipperary): Eanna Murphy; Darren Morrissey, Daithí Burke, TJ Brennan; Adrian Tuohey, Padraic Mannion, Aidan Harte; Joe Canning, Johnny Coen; Joseph Cooney, Jason Flynn, Conor Cooney; Brian Concannon, Kevin Cooney, Conor Whelan.

Allianz Hurling League Division 1B

Saturday May 22

Dublin v Antrim, Parnell Park, 5pm, GAAGo

Sunday May 23

Kilkenny v Wexford, UPMC Nowlan Park, 2pm, Spórt TG4

Laois v Clare, MW Hire O’Moore Park, 3pm, GAAGo

They may not have followed up their win over Clare with a successful spin to the South East, but Antrim will certainly go into tomorrow evening’s contest against Dublin feeling that they have the ability to get back on the winning trail.

Donal Burke has been racking up the frees for the Dubs but Antrim have been one of the more disciplined teams when it comes to conceding scoring frees, and if they can force Dublin to try and beat them from open play, this one could get very interesting indeed.

Losing their first two games isn’t a disaster for Laois, but being so far off the pace against both Wexford and Dublin, arguably the two counties that should be seen as the sides they should aspire to overtake in Leinster, will be a huge disappointment to Seamus Plunkett.

In Clare, they’ve been quite competitive but have let two games slip late on and need to break that losing habit. They found a way to scrape over the line when these sides met in the championship in Kilkenny last year, but neither county is in form at the moment so matching the high standards that were on show in Nowlan Park won’t be easy.

Ever so quietly, Brian Cody seems to be rebuilding a new team in Kilkenny that has the potential to shake things up later this year. They ran into some difficulty just after half-time against Antrim but found a way to come through and by the end, five of their six starting forwards had registered at least two scores from play.

For Wexford, last week wasn’t about the quality of the performance as much as the attitude and resolve shown in an incredible finish against Clare. Regardless of what happens, a game against the Cats has a way of focusing Wexford minds – it’s 50 years ago this month since two goals each from Christy Jacob and Phil Wilson gave the Model County a 5-8 to 3-13 win over Kilkenny in a league playoff. That was their third league and championship win over Kilkenny in succession, following the round robin stages of the league, and the 1970 Leinster final.

If Wexford can find a way to win in Nowlan Park, it’ll be the first time that they’ve beaten Kilkenny three times on the spin (league and championship only) since then, following the 2019 Leinster final and the 2020 National League tie.

Allianz Hurling League Division 2A

Sunday May 23

Kerry v Meath, Austin Stack Park, 1pm
Carlow v Offaly, Netwatch Cullen Park, 2pm
Wicklow v Down, Aughrim, 2pm

Given that Kerry and Meath have both lost one game so far, any less than three wins from their three remaining games is likely to rule either of these Joe McDonagh Cup counties out of contention for promotion. Kerry manager Fintan O’Connor has had to overcome a lot of key absentees in their games so far, while Meath have been able to field a much more settled team.

Down’s win at home to Carlow last week was a huge boost for their prospects, and another two points on Sunday afternoon in Aughrim will see them travel to Birr for a round four game that could potentially decide this Division. Wicklow have had huge scoring problems so far, and 0-28 is the lowest tally recorded by any county that has played two games so far across all the divisions. Until they address that, they’ll find it hard to compete in this company.

At the other end of the scale, Offaly have had no such problems in front of the posts, with only Galway outshooting them so far. Liam Langton made the GAA.ie team of the week last week while Brian Duignan and Eoghan Cahill were also in scintillating scoring form. Carlow certainly created enough chances to win in Ballycran last time out and could have snatched a win at the death, but after falling narrowly short, they face a do-or-die situation at Netwatch Cullen Park if they are to bounce straight back up to Division One at the first attempt.

Meath (v Kerry): Charlie Ennis; Mickey Burke, Shane Whitty, Seán Geraghty; James Kelly, James Toher, Keith Keoghan; Padraic O’Hanrahan, David Reilly; Daithí McGowan, Jack Regan, Alan Douglas; Gavin McGowan, Mark O’Sullivan, Patrick Conneely.

Allianz Hurling League Division 2B

Sunday May 23

Donegal v Mayo, Letterkenny, 2pm
Kildare v Derry, Manguard Plus Hawkfield, 4pm

Even at this very early stage, Kildare are in the driving seat in this division. Derry had last weekend off, so they could lick their wounds after suffering a narrow defeat in Castlebar, and they have two home games to come after this – but they probably would have preferred the familiar surroundings of either Celtic Park or Owenbeg for this clash with the Lily Whites. It’ll be top of the ground conditions at Hawkfield, where Kildare have played just one league game – a comprehensive win over Roscommon last February, scoring 5-21.

Mayo look like the biggest threat to Kildare so far, and they can set up a decisive showdown with the Christy Ring Cup champions in Castlebar if they can come through a tricky test in Letterkenny on Sunday afternoon. Donegal picked up two points in the first round of games at O’Donnell Park, but the absence of several key players from their Nicky Rackard championship side from last winter was evident in Newbridge, and they’ll need to find a new vein of form to unseat Mayo, who have been energised by the addition of former county footballer Keith Higgins to their panel.

Allianz Hurling League Division 3A

Saturday May 22

Sligo v Armagh, Markievicz Park, 2pm

Longford v Tyrone, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm

The hurlers of Sligo are the only side not to have played a game yet in this year’s Allianz hurling leagues, but they’ll have to hit the ground running with Armagh coming to town on the back of a big win over Longford last week. Sligo’s progression has become one of the big stories of the hurling world in recent years but if they are to become a consistent force in the Christy Ring Cup, getting out of Division 3 will be a huge priority, and it’s hard to see that happening if they don’t pick up a win here.

Tyrone took a while to get going against Monaghan but they finished very strongly in that Ulster derby, and they’ll travel to Longford in high spirits. Joe O’Brien shot 0-9 for Longford against Armagh including 0-3 from play, but the rest of the team posted just 0-7 between them, 0-3 from long range frees from Steven Creaven. Finding a greater range of scoring threats will be crucial to getting their season back on track.

Allianz Hurling League Division 3B

Sunday May 23

Louth v Cavan, Darver, 2pm
Fermanagh v Leitrim, Brewster Park, 2pm

Louth came late to snatch both points against Leitrim last weekend, while Cavan picked off a string of points in the closing stages of their contest with Fermanagh at Kingspan Breffni. These two sides will each have momentum going into this weekend’s fixture at Darver, where Louth will start with the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

Leitrim will also be fancied to pick up a win when they make the short trip across to Enniskillen to take on Fermanagh, where attackers like Colm Moreton, Gavin O’Hagan and James McNabola will hope to pick up where they left off last week for the Connacht county.