Dubs and Tipp set to battle for NHL semi-final spot

Limerick and Kilkenny are through to the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 semi-finals and now attention turns to the other two quarter-finals, which were postponed last Sunday.

Galway and Wexford meet in Innovate Wexford Park on Saturday (3.0) while Dublin and Tipperary meet in Croke Park on Sunday (1.0).

TIPPERARY v DUBLIN

Their last meeting was in the 2017 All-Ireland Allianz Hurling League qualifiers when Tipperary won by 6-26 to 1-19 in Thurles. Tipperary were also easy winners over Dublin in last year’s Allianz Hurling League, winning a 1A first round game by 1-24 to 1-8.

Tipperary last won the Allianz Hurling League in 2008 while Dublin were last successful in 2011. Tipperary beat Offaly in last year’s quarter-final while Dublin were relegated after losing a play-off to Clare. The Tipperary v Dublin winners will play Limerick in the semi-final on Saturday week.

HOW THEY REACHED THE QUARTER-FINALS

TIPPERARY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1A)
Clare 1-21 Tipperary 0-19
Tipperary 1-20 Waterford 1-11
Tipperary 3-21 Wexford 1-21
Kilkenny 2-22 Tipperary 2-21

Tipperary 1-24 Cork 1-21

Played 5, Won 3 Lost 2

DUBLIN (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B)

Offaly 2-25 Dublin 1-15
Dublin 0-23 Antrim 0-22
Limerick 1-26 Dublin 0-17
Galway 1-20 Dublin 1-14
Dublin 3-23 Laois 0-17

Played 5, Won 2, Lost 3

Their last meeting was in the 2017 All-Ireland qualifiers when Tipperary won by 6-26 to 1-19 in Thurles. Tipperary were also easy winners over Dublin in last year’s Allianz Hurling League, winning their first round game by 1-24 to 1-8.

2017 NHL DIVISION 1A

PARNELL PARK: Saturday, February 11

TIPPERARY 1-24 DUBLIN 1-8

An inexperienced Dublin side were outclassed by All-Ireland champions, Tipperary, in their opening NHL Division 1A encounter of 2017 at Croke Park.

The Dubs, minus their Cuala contingent of eight plus several injuries, began with three of the previous year's Leinster MHC winning team in their starting 15.

However, Ger Cunningham's men started brightly and led 0-4 to 0-1 inside ten minutes after Niall McMorrow, Oisín O'Rorke, Fionntan Mac Gib and Donal Burke (free) had been on target.

The Dubs had a goal chance five minutes later when CIan O'Sullivan was put through on goal by Burke but failed to control the sliotar and the chance slipped away.

Despite one early goal effort from Seamus Callanan that first Shane Barrett and then Gary Maguire did very well to repel the Premier County were slow settling into the game.

But before the half-time interval they had assumed control and were five points clear. It was a domination they continued after the break despite the brilliance of Eoghan O'Donnell at full-back with debutant Aidan McCormack hitting five points from play on a night to remember for him.

The pressure was incessant at times in the second half but O'Donnell in particular continued to impress with All Star Seamus Callanan held scoreless from play.

Seven minutes from time though Jason Forde fired to the Dublin net past Gary Maguire and at this stage Tipp were now 1-20 to 0-7 up.

Eamonn Dillon, returning from an injury lay-off, came off the bench in the second half and marked the occasion with a late goal following clever work by Donal Burke. Before the finish Dublin defender Shane Barrett was dismissed.

SCORERS – Tipperary - S Callanan 0-8 (0-8f), Jason Forde 1-3, A McCormack 0-5, P Maher 0-2, K Bergin, T Hamill, N McGrath, J O’Dwyer(0-1f), S Curran, N O’Meara 0-1 each. Dublin: D Burke 0-3 (0-3f), E Dillon 1-0, N McMorrow 0-2, C Crummey O O’Rorke, F McGibb 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: G Maguire; P Smyth, E O’Donnell, S Barrett; C Crummey, L Rushe, S McGrath; B Quinn, D Fox; C O’Sullivan, N McMorrow, R O’Dwyer; O O’Rorke, D Burke, F McGibb. Subs: J Madden for S McGrath 42; E Dillon for C O’Sullivan 46; R McBride for D Fox 50; C Conway for O O’Rorke 55; A Quinn for F McGibb 63.

TIPPERARY: D Mooney; D Maher, J Barry, J O’Keeffe; T Hamill, R Maher, P Maher; B Maher, K Bergin; S O’Brien, Jason Forde, N McGrath; J O’Dwyer, S Callanan, A McCormack. Subs: M Cahill for J O’Keeffe 51; S Curran for S O’Brien 54; N O’Meara for S Callanan 54; B Heffernan for R Maher 56, D Quinn for P Maher 59.

REF: P O'Dwyer (Carlow).

2017 ALL-IRELAND SHC QUALIFIER ROUND 2

SEMPLE STADIUM, THURLES: Saturday, July 8

TIPPERARY 6-26 DUBLIN 1-19

Then reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary well and truly ended Dublin summer journey when they outclassed Ger Cunningham's men by 22 points in this All-Ireland SHC round 2 qualifier at Semple Stadium, Thurles.

Seamus Callanan was the chief tormentor of the Dubs as he tallied a massive 3-11 as the Premier County cut loose following some below par championship displays to date this summer.

"My term is up, it's time now just to chat in relation to the game, how it panned out," said Ger Cunningham.

"We hadn't expected that in any shape or form. I'm still kind of shell shocked on the game. We'll reflect on that and see where we go."

Dublin did cause problems, at times, for the Tipperary defence but by half-time they were facing a major uphill battle as they trailed 4-11 to 1-10.

"We were contemplating shoring it up for the first 10 minutes of the second-half, but we felt that wasn't the message to give, we felt we had to attack and try to get back into the game," added Ger.

Callanan and John McGrath had two goals each while Cian O'Sullivan accounted for Dublin's only goal of the contest following a surging run to outflank the Tipp defence

Callanan scored the first goal in the eighth minute to open up a five-point lead by Dublin rallied to level matters at 1-4 each by the 15th minute.

But then the game turned Tipp's way as they raised three more green flags by the half-time interval.

In the 19th minute a long delivery by Pádraic Maher’s wasn't dealt with and John McGrath took full advantage, three minutes later McGrath found the net for the second time.

Confusion in the Dublin backline led to Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher placing Callanan and he found the net from a tight angle.

Tipp didn't let up after the break and reeled off 1-7 without reply to cruise to an emphatic victory.

SCORERS - Tipperary: S Callanan 3-11 (0-7f), J McGrath 2-2, J Forde, John O’Dwyer 0-4 each, M Breen 1-0, S O’Brien 0-2, Pádraic Maher, B Maher. D McCormack 0-1 each. Dublin: D Treacy 0-11 (0-8f), C O’Sullivan 1-1, L Rushe, R O’Dwyer 0-2 each, C Crummey, D O’Callaghan, R McBride 0-1 each.

TIPPERARY: D Gleeson; D Maher, T Hamill, J Barry; Joe O’Dwyer, R Maher, Pádraic Maher; B Maher, M Breen; J Forde, Patrick Maher, D McCormack; John O’Dwyer, S Callanan, J McGrath. Subs: S Kennedy for R Maher (45), N McGrath for B Maher (49), S O’Brien for D McCormack (49), M Cahill for D Maher (56), T Fox for Pádraic Maher (66).

DUBLIN: C Dooley; C O’Callaghan, E O’Donnell, F Ó Riain Broin; S Barrett, C Crummey, S Moran; B Quinn, N McMorrow; D Treacy, L Rushe, E Dillon; C O’Sullivan, R O’Dwyer, D Burke. Subs: J Madden for Barrett (24), F Whitely for McMorrow (ht), D O’Callaghan for Burke (ht), T Connolly for Moran (50), R McBride for Treacy (58).

REF: A Kelly (Galway).

WEXFORD v GALWAY

They met twice last year, with Wexford winning a 1B Allianz Hurling League game by 1-21 to 3-13 in Pearse Stadium in February, while Galway won the Leinster final in Croke Park in July (0-29 to 1-17).

Galway are the defending Allianz Hurling League Division 1 champions while Wexford last won the Division 1 title in 1973. Galway beat Waterford in last year’s Allianz Hurling League quarter final while Wexford beat Kilkenny. The Galway/Wexford winners will play Kilkenny in the semi-final on Saturday week, March 31.

HOW THEY REACHED THE QUARTER-FINALS

WEXFORD (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1A)
Wexford 2-20 Waterford 0-19

Wexford 0-21 Cork 1-14
Tipperary 3-21 Wexford 1-21

Wexford 0-20 Clare 1-13

Kilkenny 0-22 Wexford 0-19

Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2

GALWAY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B)

Galway 1-19 Antrim 1-16

Galway 2-18 Laois 0-17

Galway 2-19 Offaly 0-14

Galway 1-20 Dublin 1-14

Limerick 2-18 Galway 1-19

Played 5, Won 4, Lost 1

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 2A FINAL: CARLOW v WESTMEATH DIVISION 2A, PORTLAOISE SATURDAY, 3.30

Westmeath won all five divisional games, including a first round win over Carlow in Netwatch Cullen Park in late January. It was level at 0-8 each at half-time before Carlow pulled two points clear. However, Westmeath pulled away in the final ten minutes to win by 0-19 to 0-15.

Carlow lost the last two 2A finals, going down to Antrim last year and to Westmeath in 2016.

PATHS TO THE FINAL

CARLOW

Westmeath 0-19 Carlow 0-15

Carlow 1-18 Kerry 1-11

Carlow 3-23 London 0-15

Carlow 3-15 Kildare 1-6

Carlow 0-20 Meath 1-13

WESTMEATH

Westmeath 0-19 Carlow 0-15

Westmeath 1-20 Kildare 2-11

Westmeath 1-19 Meath 1-18

Westmeath 2-12 London 1-10

Westmeath 1-20 Kerry 0-16;

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3A FINAL: LOUTH v WARWICKSHIRE, TRIM, SATURDAY, 1.0

Warwickshire (9pts) won four and drew one (v Louth) of their five group games while Louth (6pts) won two, drew two and lost one of their five games. Tyrone also had six points but Louth took their place in the final, having beaten the Ulster men in a Round 2 head-to-head contest.

Louth and Warwickshire met in Darver in Round 3 on February 18 when they drew 1-16 each. Louth led by two points at half-time, an advantage they also took into the closing minutes. Warwickshire, down to 13 men at that stage, staged a great recovery and pointed frees by Niall McKenna and Pat Hoban earned them a draw.

Neil Arthur is Louth’s top scorer in the Allianz Hurling League on 7-41. Niall McKenna is Warwickshire’s top scorer on 2-33.

PATHS TO THE FINAL

LOUTH

Roscommon 3-17 Louth 1-6

Louth 4-12 Tyrone 0-20

Louth 1-16 Warwickshire 1-16

Louth 4-17 Longford 5-7

Monaghan 1-13 Louth 1-13

WARWICKSHIRE

Warwickshire 3-16 Tyrone 2-14

Warwickshire 1-14 Longford 0-11

Louth 1-16 Warwickshire 1-16

Warwickshire 2-17 Monaghan 3-13
Warwickshire 1-23 Roscommon 3-10

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3B FINAL: LEITRIM v LANCASHIRE, BALLYCONNELL, SUNDAY, 12.0

Lancashire won all four group games while Leitrim won three of four. Lancashire beat Leitrim by a point (0-15 to 0-14) in Ballinamore in Round 2.

PATHS TO THE FINAL

LANCASHIRE

Lancashire 2-25 Fermanagh 1-11

Lancashire 0-15 Leitrim 0- 14

Lancashire 2-18 Cavan 1-12

Lancashire 3-15 Sligo 2-9

LEITRIM

Leitrim 1-9 Sligo 0-8
Lancashire 0-15 Leitrim 0- 14
Leitrim 2-12 Fermanagh 1-11
Leitrim 6-21 Cavan 3-7

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 2018: RESULTS & FIXTURES

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1A

Round 1: Cork 1-24 Kilkenny 0-24; Wexford 2-20 Waterford 0-19; Clare 1-21 Tipperary 0-19.

Round 2: Tipperary 1-20 Waterford 1-11; Clare 2-18 Kilkenny 1-18; Wexford 0-21 Cork 1-14.

Round 3: Tipperary 3-21 Wexford 1-21; Clare 0-23 Cork 0-19; Kilkenny 1-20 Waterford 1-12.

Round 4: Kilkenny 2-22 Tipperary 2-21; Waterford 1-20 Cork 1-15; Wexford 0-20 Clare 1-13.

Round 5: Kilkenny 0-22 Wexford 0-19; Tipperary 1-24 Cork1-21; Waterford 1-23 Clare 1-20

Relegation play-off: Cork 0-21 Waterford 1-13


ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B

Round 1: Offaly 2-25 Dublin 1-15; Galway 1-19 Antrim 1-16; Limerick 1-25 Laois 0-18

Round 2: Galway 2-18 Laois 0-17; Dublin 0-23 Antrim 0-22; Limerick 1-24 Offaly 0-10.

Round 3: Laois 0-27 Antrim 2-16; Limerick 1-26 Dublin 0-17; Galway 2-19 Offaly 0-14.

Round 4: Limerick 3-21 Antrim 0-13; Galway 1-20 Dublin 1-14; Offaly 1-21 Laois 1-16

Round 5: Limerick 2-18 Galway 1-19; Dublin 3-23 Laois 0-17; Antrim 2-21 Offaly 2-18.

Relegation play-off: Laois 1-16 Antrim 0-17

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALS

Kilkenny 0-24 Offaly 1-19; Limerick 4-21 Clare 0-33 (Limerick won 7-6 on ‘65s’ shoot-out after sides were level following two periods of extra-time)

Mar 24: Wexford v Galway, Innovate Wexford Park;

Mar 25: Dublin v Tipperary, Croke Park.

SEMI-FINALS: Mar 31: Tipperary/Dublin v Limerick; Kilkenny v Galway/Wexford

FINAL: Apr 8

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2A

Round 1: Westmeath 0-19 Carlow 0-15; Meath 1-17 Kildare 0-17; Kerry 2-30 London 1-13.

Round 2: Meath 1-24 London 1-14; Westmeath 1-20 Kildare 2-11; Carlow 1-18 Kerry 1-11.

Round 3: Feb 18: Carlow 3-23 London 0-15; Kerry 1-23 Kildare 0-10, Westmeath 1-19 Meath 1-18.

Round 4: Westmeath 2-12 London 1-10; Kerry 3-19 Meath 1-9; Carlow 3-15 Kildare 1-6.

Round 5: Westmeath 1-20 Kerry 0-16; Carlow 0-20 Meath 1-13; London 1-19 Kildare 0-15

Final: Westmeath v Carlow

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2B

Round 1: Down 2-17 Derry 1-14; Mayo 2-16 Donegal 1-9; Wicklow 4-20 Armagh 1-12.

Round 2: Donegal 4-17 Derry 2-9; Down1-24 Wicklow 0-16; Mayo 3-15 Armagh 2-13.

Round 3: Wicklow 2-21 Donegal 0-21; Mayo 0-13 Derry 0-10; Down 3-15 Armagh 0-13.

Round 4: Armagh 2-18 Derry 1-15; Donegal 0-17 Down 0-14; Mayo 1-22 Wicklow 2-16

Round 5: Donegal 2-17 Armagh 1-17; Down 3-19 Mayo 0-14; Wicklow 3-15 Derry 2-13.

Final: Mayo 1-15 Down 0-14


ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3A

Round 1: Roscommon 3-17 Louth 1-6; Warwickshire 3-16 Tyrone 2-14; Monaghan 0-16 Longford 0-12.
Round 2: Warwickshire 1-14 Longford 0-11; Monaghan 0-16 Roscommon 1-13; Louth 4-12 Tyrone 0-20.
Round 3: Louth 1-16 Warwickshire 1-16; Roscommon 1-25 Longford 1-10; Tyrone 2-15 Monaghan 0-17
Round 4: Louth 4-17 Longford 5-7; Warwickshire 2-17 Monaghan 3-13; Tyrone 1-16 Roscommon 1-12.
Round 5: Warwickshire 1-23 Roscommon 3-10; Monaghan 1-13 Louth 1-13; Tyrone 2-21 Longford 1-14
Final: Warwickshire v Louth

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3B

Round 1: Lancashire 2-25 Fermanagh 1-11; Leitrim 1-9 Sligo 0-8

Round 2: Lancashire 0-15 Leitrim 0-14; Sligo 2-19 Cavan 0-4.

Round 3: Leitrim 2-12 Fermanagh 1-11; Lancashire 2-18 Cavan 1-12.

Round 4: Lancashire 3-15 Sligo 2-9; Cavan 3-8 Fermanagh 0-16.

Round 5: Leitrim 6-21 Cavan 3-7; Sligo 2-4 Fermanagh 0-9

Final: Lancashire v Leitrim