Tipperary and Galway recovering, Clare in trouble

Brian Lohan is not too happy with his team so far this year and it is a terrible blow for them to have last year’s hero Shane O’Donnell injured for the season.

March is upon us and the changeable weather that comes with it. It must be difficult to train on these cold, wet, windy nights, not to mention the poor condition of the surfaces on many of the pitches. Of course, the weather affected the match between Limerick and Kilkenny, which was postponed as a result.

But the standard of hurling has been high so far. We had another example of that last Saturday and we saw the high standard of play again from the Tipperary hurlers who were good from start to finish against Cork. It was extremely important for Liam Cahill and his players, who have a break this weekend, to be at least competitive but they did better than that. Cahill must be very pleased with the new lads he has brought in.

Oisín O’Donoghue, Sam O’Farrell and Darragh McCarthy were excellent leaders for the county’s under-20 team last year. McCarthy, still a teenager, put in a great display with ten goals, five from play, to add to his 2-22 tally since the start of the league campaign. Joe Caesar was good in his first game, having been brought up to senior level for the first time. We’ll see him again.

New full-back Eoghan Connolly has also shown his credentials in the four games he has played and is well-suited to this level. Corner full-back Robert Doyle has done well, after a poor start, to put Jack O’Connor in the lurch. Doyle was a starter until Cahill handed him the number two jersey. There are a number of other players with little experience but the Tipperary team are heading in the right direction, so far anyway. They now have a reasonable chance of reaching the league final.

Cork are at home tonight and Kilkenny are visiting Cois Leei. Cork were very good for periods against Tipperary but they fell apart in the last quarter. They were missing a number of players who would normally be in the starting fifteen but still I don’t think Pat Ryan and the backroom staff were overly happy with the overall display from the twenty players who took to the field.

Another man who is not too happy so far this year is Clare manager Brian Lohan. It is a terrible blow for them to have last year’s hero Shane O’Donnell injured for the season. They lost again at home last Sunday against Wexford and it is almost certain that they will be playing in Division 1b for the next season. That is a big disadvantage for any team that would be in the hunt for the top prize in hurling.

They won’t find anything easy tomorrow as they travel across the border to Páirc na nGael. Although they were missing a number of key players, Limerick were very good against Tipperary in the last game. Based on what we have seen so far, they seem to be favourites for all the trophies this year. I will be surprised if they don’t win tomorrow.

Galway are away to Wexford this afternoon. Lee Chin started his first game for the Carmans last Sunday and they won their first league points. That is no coincidence. Chin gives them great leadership and that will be needed again tonight. The Galway are improving with every game they play and I would be surprised if they didn’t get the league points tonight.

In division 1B, Waterford have a big game in Brean Park with Dublin visiting. Nothing will be easy or soft here, nor will anything be easy in the game between Offaly and Westmeath.

Congratulations to the Donegal senior hurlers who won against Kerry last Sunday. A great achievement.