GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 23 – April 10, 2015 | Page 50

DOWN TO FOUR
BY DENIS O’BRIEN
APRIL 10, 2015
After a very entertaining Allianz Hurling League we are
down to the final four teams in Division 1 with the semifinals taking place next weekend Sunday April 19th at Nolan
Park, Kilkenny.
Tipperary, Waterford, Cork and Dublin are the four who’ve
made it thus far and of course the question remains which
two will make it to the final on May 3rd.
QUARTERS REVIEW
In the quarter-finals, Dublin had an excellent win over Limerick at Croke Park in their match. In Dublin’s previous outing and win against Galway, they showed the form that had
beaten Tipperary in the opening round and looked the part
again against Limerick. As for Limerick they looked well off
the pace given they were hammered 1-26 to 0-16. Here’s the
thing about Limerick, they tend to be nervous when playing at Croker, and in this scribe’s view, unless it’s in the heat
of Munster championship battle and a sea of green roaring
them on, Limerick can tend to disappoint. Dublin full forward Mark Schutte and Man of the Match again, impressed
with 1-5 from play. He’s big, athletic and very mobile and has
an eye for a score. He adds greatly to Dublin’s threat upfront.
Tipperary did enough in their quarter to get past an improving Offaly, who should not be taken lightly in the Leinster
championship, while Waterford promoted from 1B impressed with their combination of intensity, touch and scor-

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ing prowess to defeat a battling Galway. Meanwhile, Cork
struggled to get past Wexford at home and it took a second
half come-back to get them over the line as a lacking in confidence Wexford, imploded in that second period.
DUBLIN V CORK
The semis are in Nolan Park as a double header with Dublin
v Cork up first. The last time these two met in the league in
Croke Park, Cork looked fantastic and Dublin didn’t. Cork
appeared there last season and were trounced by Tipp in a
highly anticipated All Ireland semi-final. One felt that that
defeat might have been playing on their minds before they
took on the Dubs. But Dublin look to have shaken off their
mid league cobwebs and will be gunning to make amends for
their past defeat to the Rebels.
Dublin are building a nice balance to their team and the
tight pitch of Nolan Park will suit their industrious efforts
at creating turnovers. Cork remain porous in their full back
line and midfield, and depend that bit too much on their attack which when on song will cause any defense problems.
Dublin tweaked their formation slightly last time when moving Liam Rushe from this league’s full forward spot to center
forward and this likelihood could prove rewarding against
Cork. Schutte could also make hay anew. The Rebels will
have their hands full and will do well to come away with a
spot in the final.