Saturday is set for the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals, where Dublin will compete against Cork, and Clare will face Wexford in FBD Semple Stadium, both matches will be televised live on RTÉ One. Cork’s win against Limerick a few weeks back was received with great Adulation. However, Limerick’s relentless stride since then places the situation back into normalcy.
Cork’s speed and threat of scoring have been idle while the regional championships progressed, and the recent lacklustre victory against McDonagh Cup champions, Offaly, was rather uninspiring. Despite this, Cork is anticipated to secure a win over Dublin, who were convincingly beaten in the Leinster final. However, Cork must bring its top performance for a possible rematch against Limerick in a couple of weeks.
The deadly combination of Séamus Harnedy, Shane Barrett, and Darragh Fitzgibbon wreaked havoc with their early ball, whilst Alan Connolly and Patrick Horgan continued their ongoing scoring rivalry with TJ Reid, proving to be nearly unstoppable against Dublin’s running and passing.
Dublin’s strategic play met a brick wall against Kilkenny, causing a catastrophic collapse. Micheál Donoghue, the Dublin coach, certainly has a task on his hands with Dublin’s top performers, Chris Crummey and Dónal Burke. But considering the current situation, it seems like Cork holds the winning card.
The other clash between Clare and Wexford is somewhat unpredictable. Clare’s perpetual struggle was augmented this year when fate dealt them a heavy blow, leaving them with another recurring challenge. Furthermore, Clare barely managed to surpass Wexford two years ago after a taxing Munster final that extended into overtime.
This year, the team did not get as close as they wished to Limerick and have been cautious of their opponents’ increased skill. Measuring the strength of Wexford is challenging at this point. Their recovery performance against Galway was noteworthy, however, their reputation has been repeatedly tarnished. In their final group match against Kilkenny, they put up a fight, but so did Dublin in the week prior.
The departure of Liam Ryan hits Keith Rossiter’s team hard, as they lack the subs to replace key players. However, they should not be underestimated. Their games have been consistently good since getting back on track after a defeat in Belfast. Lee Chin’s performance has been significantly great, even by his usual high standards, while Conor McDonald and Rory O’Connor have also been doing well. Richie Lawlor returns after a week’s absence and previous All Star, Diarmuid O’Keeffe, marks his first game of the year, starting on the bench.
Clare’s issues are not only due to a proclivity for ceding goals, which was most evident but not limited to their defeat to Limerick; they also suffer from inconsistency. Their ability to score goals dramatically dropped in the third quarter of the game in Ennis, and this stalled progress was again seen in the Munster final, where poor shots and missed goal attempts were present, partially due to Nickie Quaid’s exceptional goalkeeping.
The team had a hard time finding a consistently reliable free-kicker, with Aidan McCarthy’s four misses in Thurles and Tony Kelly’s miscalculations causing a blow to the team’s confidence. Their falling to a disputed 65 against Waterford could have been prevented if they hadn’t missed an alarming number of wide shots during the third quarter.
The team’s ability to bounce back from a significant initial defeat and reach another Munster final is notably commendable, scratching out wins even while not performing at their best. It’s plausible that Shane O’Donnell, Mark Rodgers, David Fitzgerald and others will sync into a more effective mode this weekend. Prediction: Clare will come out on top.