When Tony Kelly addressed that sideline cut against Limerick two years ago, I was willing him to get it – not out of support for Clare but to prolong the Munster final into extra time. These teams have provided epic entertainment in the past couple of years and I’d urge anyone near a television at 4pm on Sunday to tune in.
It has sometimes been regardless of form, which could be relevant, because for me Clare haven’t been quite at the pitch of the last two years. They have been impressive along the way, especially against Cork and, of course, for three quarters of the Limerick match until the avalanche of soft goals, but they have struggled to put matches away.
Shane O’Donnell has been in unbelievable form so far but against Cork he had real support. Mark Rodgers was really good. Peter Duggan was really good. Their backs played well. John Conlon and Diarmuid Ryan brought great energy going forward.
We also saw plenty from them against Waterford but worryingly, they didn’t kill off the game despite opportunities. Failure to convert clear chances was also in evidence against Tipperary.
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Kelly has been largely absent but Clare’s average scoring rate remains quite high. Relative to Limerick, who are coming in at just more than 30 points, Clare are at 29. The difference is at the other end where Limerick are conceding 24 a match and Clare 28.
Optics suggest that’s where the problems are. They need to tighten up in the full back line and stop giving away so many frees. Conor Leen played well the last day and it will be interesting to see if Brian Lohan starts him again.
Against that, Limerick are missing two significant players in the full forward line, Séamus Flanagan and Peter Casey, who between them have scored 17 points – that’s a lot of firepower to replace. Flanagan can be a little hit and miss but when he hits, you feel it – three goals against Cork, 0-8 from play against Clare in the Munster final two years ago.
Casey is ultimately a huge loss. He’s like the attack’s central processing unit. A lot of the direction comes through him and he represents arguably as big a loss to Limerick as Tony Kelly has been to Clare.
They looked fresher to me the last day, as if they might have been in a training cycle earlier in the championship. That’s obviously part of the routine because there have always been matches in the Munster championship in the past two years where Limerick have looked sluggish.
They have played well in Munster finals – and have had to, to beat Clare. In the various iterations of this, there has been nothing between the teams, a score here and there, but those slender differentials have tended to work in Limerick’s favour and will again, I believe.
In Leinster, I didn’t hold out much hope for Dublin after the league campaign.
However, the couple of goals they scored against Wexford in injury-time at the start of the championship were transformative. The match and their whole season were on knife-edge at that particular point because with challenging games to come, they were five points down deep into injury-time.
They do rely on a number of key players – no more than most teams – and if they are not playing, there is a problem. Chris Crummey and Dónal Burke getting back and Eoghan O’Donnell having an injury-free run have been instrumental in getting them to the final.
Micheál Donoghue is a very impressive coach, proven as an All-Ireland winner with Galway, who haven’t done much since in his absence. He’s very measured and immersed in the modern game. You can see his imprint in the way Dublin play to a specific pattern inasmuch as any hurling can be completely patterned.
They are organised and playing with purpose, which ironically was in direct contrast to Galway in the last round, which must have been difficult for Donoghue if also a vindication. Dublin have been improving.
They were also unlucky against Kilkenny in Parnell Park, usually a happy hunting ground for Kilkenny, because their tighter control typically benefits them there.
Under Donoghue, Dublin’s close control of the ball is much better and they can play through the lines and at pace. That’s a huge improvement in what I saw in Limerick last year.
Then again, in that All-Ireland quarter-final against Clare, Dublin lost Burke by the seventh minute. They were also missing Crummey. His return is important, especially in the half back role because he has been tried in a number of other positions.
Donoghue doesn’t complicate things. He plays the best players in their best positions.
You have to give Dublin a realistic chance in this match. They have been improving and have a lot of pace and physique. They’re scoring plenty. Burke is back in form and Seán Currie is a very neat, skilful player. I think they will be confident.
A Leinster final against Kilkenny will be the litmus test of their improvement. The champions had a decent league but injuries have been unforgiving since the championship started, which can stretch any team and I think it’s made them a little less certain. The Carlow result was the most eye-opening instance.
At least they should have Adrian Mullen back, which is a huge addition as he’s their key player in the middle-third, wins possession, is always available to take the ball on and typically, off his left side he’ll score freely. John Donnelly has been their best player so far and if he misses out, it’s one step forward and another step back.
[ Tactical breakdown: Dublin and Clare both have weapons to end the long waitOpens in new window ]
They raised their game in the second half against Wexford but were hanging on a bit by the end. They also beat Dublin, again just about, but always looked confident. This weekend, bad and all as they have been going, they will believe implicitly that they can do so again.
Kilkenny probably have the smart money but Dublin haven’t had a better chance of beating them in the past 11 years.
