It’s been a while since there’s been a genuine shock in championship hurling. The type of result where a long odds outsider overturns a hot favourite. Well Laois came mighty close last Saturday when they gave Limerick “one hell of a fright” in Phase III of the All Ireland Qualifiers. Laois led by 1-05 to no score after 6 minutes and held that lead until 10 minutes from the end but Limerick prevailed in closing minutes. Willie Hyland scored 0-8 (0-2 from play) for Laois while Eoin Costelloe scored 1-02 from play. For Limeric, Paul Browne struck 3 points from play and Andrew O’Shaugnessy hit 0-6 (0-1 from play).
In the other Phase III qualifier, Galway overturned last year’s result with a 7 point victory over Cork. As usual Ben O’Connor and Joe Canning were top scorers for Cork and Galway respectively. Ben hit 9 points (2 from play) whereas Joe got 0-10 (all from placed balls including 1 sideline cut). This is the first match in championship hurling where Canning failed to score from play.
So what happens next? On Sunday, Galway face Waterford and Limerick play Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. As Limerick had already faced Waterford (twice), they were kept apart in the q/f draw. The winners of these matches play the provincial champions in the All Ireland semi-finals. No matter who wins the quarter-finals, there will not be any draw for the semi-finals becuase the pairings will be pre-ordained. This is because of 2 criteria:
- the provincial finalists cannot meet in the semis (i.e a Kilkenny v Dublin or a Tipperary v Waterford semi-final is not allowed)
- teams which have played already cannot meet again where possible.
Thus if Limerick and Galway win, the semis will be Kilkenny v Limerick and Tipperary v Galway because Kilkenny and Galway have already met in the Leinster championship. Got that? you can read all the permutations and combinations here.
Despite rumblings of discontent from the counties involved, it looks like the Liam McCarthy relegation play-offs will go ahead this weekend. The two “semi-finals” are as follows:
- Antrim v Offaly
- Wexford v Clare
The two losers will play in a relegation “final” with the ultimate losers being re-graded to the Christy Ring Cup in 2010. Carlow, as Christy Ring Cup champions, take their rightful place in next year’s Leinster and All-Ireland Championships.
Only 1 new hurler made his championship debut at the weekend bringing the total number of newcomers to 51:
Galway (1)
- Andy Coen