A guide to all this weekend's Gaelic games action
TODAY
Allianz Hurling League Division One A relegation play-off replay
Galway v Dublin, Portlaoise, 4pm – Hard to say who will have drawn most strength from last weekend. Galway badly needed a performance and duly got one; Dublin found a way to stay alive with 13 men.
Galway watched Joe Canning find his voice again after a stuttering start; Dublin discovered an unlikely 65-taker in Niall McMorrow.
Doing without Ryan O’Dwyer and Alan McCrabbe for this one could just swing the pendulum away from Dublin.
Iarla Tannion and Andy Smith are likely to invigorate the Galway side and you have to imagine that if Canning gets into a groove earlier this time around, Anthony Cunningham’s side can put more juice into the scoreboard than Anthony Daly’s.
All-Ireland Under-21 Football Semi-finals
Dublin v Cork, Portlaoise, 2pm – It’s not often that the main draw at an under-21 game is a boy just out of the minor ranks but the buzz surrounding Ciarán Kilkenny is becoming intolerable.
At their best, this Cork side would have plenty to say about it but they come into this carrying a few more injuries than they’d like.
Roscommon v Cavan, Longford, 4pm – Cavan are strong favourites here by virtue of having beaten Armagh, Derry and Tyrone, while Roscommon got past Mayo and a plain enough Sligo side to win Connacht.
The Ulstermen won a Hastings Cup encounter between the sides already this year and will feel they can back it up here.
Tomorrow
Allianz Hurling League Semi-finals
Kilkenny v Clare, Thurles, 2pm – A shot to nothing for Clare. A walk through the storm knowing that regardless of the outcome they can hold their heads high.
Even if they come away on the wrong end of a tonking, they can console themselves that it’s nothing every other county hasn’t had to endure at some stage over the past five years.
They can well afford to dive in head first, knowing they have two whole months to wash it out of their hair before meeting Waterford in the Munster championship.
For all that, Davy Fitzgerald will scald them into believing they’re turning up for more than just the photograph.
Nobody-believes-in-us is never a bad catch-cry, especially from a team which hasn’t lost a game in the league so far.
The loss of James McInerney from centre back won’t be easily borne and Pat O’Connor will likely have his fill of dropping ball to deal with in his absence.
Not stinting is one thing, finding a foothold will be far harder.
For all their progress, Clare have been away from this level of hurling for three years.
Kilkenny are without long-term absentees Henry Shefflin, Jackie Tyrrell, Noel Hickey and Richie Hogan but will have a fair bit in hand nonetheless.
They were in murderous form against Galway last time out and though they won’t get it as easy, we can expect more of the same here.
Tipperary v Cork, Thurles, 4pm – It doesn’t bode particularly well for Tipp’s summer that an injury to Paul Curran ends up pulling their best defender away from the area of the pitch in which he can have the most influence.
Pádraic Maher’s 2009 All Star at full back might well make him the obvious next-best choice to fill the number three shirt in Curran’s absence but it seems a little wasteful all the same. If nothing else, it’s a tip of the hat to the Cork inside forward line.
Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s side go into this with their tails up and his team selection has served warning that there are still places to be fought for.
John Gardiner’s stock has fallen year on year over the past while and it looks very much as though the half-back line is closed to him now.
If he’s to plant a flag for a midfield spot, tomorrow’s the day to do it.
Leaving Conor Lehane on the bench carries with it an element of cute hoorism from JBM and suggests a defeat won’t break his heart.
Tipp could do with quelling the mini-rebellion Cork have going on this spring and should just about have enough for the job.
