Hurling Super Sunday Beckons
By: Enda McEvoy
The scheduling of the two matches leaves much to be desired – no way should the Munster and Leinster finals be taking place on the same afternoon, end of – but no matter. Super Sunday beckons.
Clare versus Cork in Semple Stadium at 2pm. Galway versus Kilkenny in Croke Park at 4pm. Unless you’re a hurling fan blessed with the gift of bilocation, a large-screen TV will be your only man.
Are we in for two crackers? Probably not. The reader is long enough on the road at this stage to know that most highly anticipated matches tend not to live up to expectations. Then again, to assert that both of these are highly anticipated matches may be overdoing it.
Granted, Clare/Cork was sold out by the middle of last week, a natural postscript to the roaring success of the inaugural round robin in Munster. The fixture is a repeat of last year’s provincial decider, so it’s not as though there’s a fresh item – such as a resurgent Limerick, for instance – on the menu.
But so what? Cork have maintained the form that propelled them to an unexpected provincial title last season. Over the course of the past 13 months they’re unbeaten in seven outings in Munster. Three wins in 2017, two wins and two draws in 2018. That’s consistency. Naturally they’re going to bring vast support to Thurles on Sunday.
The same goes for Clare, who’ve turned a corner in the eyes of their followers. For the county to fail to kick on after the unexpected All Ireland triumph of 2013 was one thing and, given the youthfulness of the team, an understandable one. For them to mislay the bond with their supporters was quite another thing and arguably a more disturbing development.
Even the National League victory of 2016 didn’t repair the breach. The bounce and bubble of 2013 had disappeared. The Clare of the past few seasons had no clear identity, no USP. Bar the occasional flash of magic from Tony Kelly they were just another team. The connection with the fans had to be restored.
It wasn’t during Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor’s first season in charge, even though the county reached the Munster final and ran Tipperary close in the All Ireland quarter-final. Second time around it’s been different. This is much closer to the management’s ideal team playing the management’s ideal hurling.
Sometimes only a small thing is needed to change everything. Thus it was back in 1995 for Clare when Seanie McMahon, despite carrying an injured collarbone, forced a very late sideline cut which moments later ended up in the Cork net and put the Banner through to a Munster final. The rest is history.
Thus it was at Semple Stadium a couple of weeks ago. Tipperary hit the post from a shot that would have killed off the game, Clare surged down the field to score a goal and, newly energised, went on to win. Now they had momentum, momentum that carried them through against Limerick next time out in Ennis. They’ll bring even more momentum to Thurles on Sunday.
Cork or Clare? Pardon the fence-sitting but it really is too close to call.
As for the Croke Park feature, it’s unlikely to pull in the neutrals in their droves. For a very different reason to the usual reason, mind you.
For years Kilkenny were the star attraction on Leinster final day, with the only question surrounding the extent of their winning margin. Now the boot is well and truly on the other foot.
It’s Galway who are the provincial and All Ireland champions. It’s Galway who won by eight points, and who might have won by considerably more, when the teams met in Salthill last month. It’s Galway with a team of cyborgs.
(Remember when Michael Fennelly was Kilkenny’s answer to Robocop? Galway have five or six Robocops, most of them in the forwards.)
Kilkenny are younger, lighter and less resilient. This is the first year of Brian Cody’s latest model and in the circumstances they’re doing perfectly well. But Galway’s size and strength proved a bridge too far for them on May 27th. The intervening five weeks will scarcely have changed that scenario.
The scheduling of the two matches leaves much to be desired – no way should the Munster and Leinster finals be taking place on the same afternoon, end of – but no matter. Super Sunday beckons.
Clare versus Cork in Semple Stadium at 2pm. Galway versus Kilkenny in Croke Park at 4pm. Unless you’re a hurling fan blessed with the gift of bilocation, a large-screen TV will be your only man.
Are we in for two crackers? Probably not. The reader is long enough on the road at this stage to know that most highly anticipated matches tend not to live up to expectations. Then again, to assert that both of these are highly anticipated matches may be overdoing it.
Granted, Clare/Cork was sold out by the middle of last week, a natural postscript to the roaring success of the inaugural round robin in Munster. The fixture is a repeat of last year’s provincial decider, so it’s not as though there’s a fresh item – such as a resurgent Limerick, for instance – on the menu.
But so what? Cork have maintained the form that propelled them to an unexpected provincial title last season. Over the course of the past 13 months they’re unbeaten in seven outings in Munster. Three wins in 2017, two wins and two draws in 2018. That’s consistency. Naturally they’re going to bring vast support to Thurles on Sunday.
The same goes for Clare, who’ve turned a corner in the eyes of their followers. For the county to fail to kick on after the unexpected All Ireland triumph of 2013 was one thing and, given the youthfulness of the team, an understandable one. For them to mislay the bond with their supporters was quite another thing and arguably a more disturbing development.
Even the National League victory of 2016 didn’t repair the breach. The bounce and bubble of 2013 had disappeared. The Clare of the past few seasons had no clear identity, no USP. Bar the occasional flash of magic from Tony Kelly they were just another team. The connection with the fans had to be restored.
It wasn’t during Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor’s first season in charge, even though the county reached the Munster final and ran Tipperary close in the All Ireland quarter-final. Second time around it’s been different. This is much closer to the management’s ideal team playing the management’s ideal hurling.
Sometimes only a small thing is needed to change everything. Thus it was back in 1995 for Clare when Seanie McMahon, despite carrying an injured collarbone, forced a very late sideline cut which moments later ended up in the Cork net and put the Banner through to a Munster final. The rest is history.
Thus it was at Semple Stadium a couple of weeks ago. Tipperary hit the post from a shot that would have killed off the game, Clare surged down the field to score a goal and, newly energised, went on to win. Now they had momentum, momentum that carried them through against Limerick next time out in Ennis. They’ll bring even more momentum to Thurles on Sunday.
Cork or Clare? Pardon the fence-sitting but it really is too close to call.
As for the Croke Park feature, it’s unlikely to pull in the neutrals in their droves. For a very different reason to the usual reason, mind you.
For years Kilkenny were the star attraction on Leinster final day, with the only question surrounding the extent of their winning margin. Now the boot is well and truly on the other foot.
It’s Galway who are the provincial and All Ireland champions. It’s Galway who won by eight points, and who might have won by considerably more, when the teams met in Salthill last month. It’s Galway with a team of cyborgs.
(Remember when Michael Fennelly was Kilkenny’s answer to Robocop? Galway have five or six Robocops, most of them in the forwards.)
Kilkenny are younger, lighter and less resilient. This is the first year of Brian Cody’s latest model and in the circumstances they’re doing perfectly well. But Galway’s size and strength proved a bridge too far for them on May 27th. The intervening five weeks will scarcely have changed that scenario.