Dublin defender Michael Carton reckons Division One A of the Allianz Hurling league will come down to a “puck of a ball”, only this time he’s not just reverting to the cliché.
There is hardly a puck of a ball between the six teams after the opening two rounds – they are all level on two points, with relatively minor scoring differences separating them.
Dublin are actually bottom of the table, based on scoring difference, the heavy defeat to Galway in round one not yet entirely balanced out by the hard-fought win over Clare in round two. Sunday’s trip to Waterford offers the chance to leapfrog a couple of the teams in front of them, but more importantly demonstrate Dublin can maintain the proper mindset.
"We were dismal against Galway, just didn't show up, and you can't do that in this league," says Carton. "The Clare game couldn't have come quickly enough for us, to be honest. But there's going to be a puck of a ball and maybe a point or two in it between winning the league and being relegated. There'll be nothing in it, at the end of the league. . ."
Bounced back
Current form is certainly difficult to predict: Waterford fell to Tipperary in the opening round, and then bounced back to beat Galway, in round two; likewise with Kilkenny, who after losing to Clare, responded with a brilliant win over Tipp.
The question of what went wrong for Dublin against Galway was at least quickly answered against Clare.
“We knew we weren’t as bad as we played against Galway, we showed that against Clare. It was great to get the win. Obviously you want to get that winning mentality as well, because winning breeds winning . . .”
Dublin manager Anthony Daly spoke about this proper “mindset” after the win over his native Clare, the only problem now being Waterford will be in a similar mindset for Sunday. Dublin have a poor record in Walsh Park, although Carton believes they have the confidence and belief now to ensure what happened against Galway doesn’t happen again.
“I think as a team we’ve been together a long, long time, and mentally we’re a lot tougher than we have been. I suppose if you look back at say the 2012 season it was a bit of a freefall for us.
“But we’ve grown as a panel over the last two or three years and we’re definitely stronger than we ever have been. We’re confident about this weekend.
“I actually thought Waterford should have beaten Tipp the first day, and they had a great performance against Galway the last day.
“They’re a tough, tough battle but we need to get two more points on the board. Being favourites, as well, is a new tag that the players have to deal with .
"It's a different mentality altogether from being an underdog, obviously, but it's a tag that if we want to be successful we have to learn to deal with."
Home victory
Waterford's hopes of a home victory are hit by a long injury list that currently includes the likes of Liam Lawlor, Maurice Shanahan, Darragh Fives, Stephen Daniels, Brian O'Halloran, Richie Foley and Donie Breathnach – all of whom are still working their way back to full match fitness. There are also doubts about the availability of All-Ireland minor winners Stephen Bennett and Austin Gleeson, while Jake Dillon is battling a virus.
