Senior Hurlers Get Set For Allianz League Opener

Dublin senior hurlers will be hoping to emulate their achievement of February 2015 when they face Kilkenny in their HL Division 1 Group B opener this Sunday in Nowlan Park (2.0).

Their 2015 meeting saw Dublin prevail 0-25 to 3-11 at the Kilkenny City venue in their HL Division 1A encounter.

It was Dublin's first victory against the Cats in Nowlan Park since 1964 (Walsh Cup match). Dublin did beat Kilkenny in November 1989 in NHL action in Callan while the previous NHL victory in Nowlan Park was in March 1961.

While there was five point between the sides at the finish Dublin were by far the better side and led by 14 points, 0-24 to 1-7, with 15 minutes remaining.

The Dubs and the Cats haven't clashed in HL action since March 2017 when Kilkenny won 2-20 to 1-16, it was one of four defeats for Dublin in that campaign and they finished the early season off by losing a relegation play-off to Clare (3-18 to 0-19) in Cusack Park, Ennis.

As a result Dublin have operated in Division 1B for the past two springs.

Last year the Dubs enjoyed an impressive league - winning four of the games (v Carlow, Offaly, Waterford and Laois) while losing to Galway.

Mattie Kenny's men topped Division 1B, ahead of Waterford on the head-to-head ruling and advanced to face Limerick in the HL Division 1 semi-final in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny.

The Dubs battled to the final bell but lost by three points (1-19 to 1-16) having trailed by nine at one stage of the second half.

Had Dublin converted more of their opportunities from open play and frees earlier in the game it could have made for an even more interesting conclusion.

Limerick effectively won the game with an impressive scoring surge at the midpoint of the second half to suddenly open up a 1-17 to 0-12 advantage having led by just one point, 0-10 to 0-9, at half-time with Danny Sutcliffe and Eamon Dillon firing some fine scores.

During a half when the sides were level on seven occasions the Dubs have some fine display, particularly in defence where Eoghan O'Donnell, Paddy Smyth and Seán Moran impressed.

Dublin's cause was not helped by three first half injuries as they lost the scoring threat of Oisín O'Rorke (11 minutes) as well as Seán Treacy (21) and Riain McBride (25) - all ankle injuries - while Daire Gray had to be replaced by a blood sub (Tomás Connolly) for over 20 minutes.

However, with inside 20 minutes left Dublin were still very much in the hunt with the Shannonsiders just 0-13 to 0-12 in front.

Then the game turned as Limerick upped their tempo and the half-back line of Diarmaid Byrnes, Dan Morrissey and Paddy O'Loughlin grew more influential.

Peter Casey’s 52nd minute point ignited John Kiely's men as they hit 1-5 without reply to give them the cushion they carried to the finish despite Dublin's late rally.

Dublin refused to give in and sub Ronan Hayes' goal in the 64th minute sparked his side but they were left with too much ground to cover.

The Dubs enter this league off the back of a decent Walsh Cup campaign while last weekend proved what rude health Kilkenny hurling is in with All-Ireland final wins for Ballyhale Shamrocks (senior), Tullaroan (intermediate) and Conahy Shamrocks (junior) seeing the Cats secure the clean sweep.

Dublin defeated Westmeath, Carlow and Laois to top the group phase before losing a Walsh Cup semi-final to Galway (0-19 to 0-18) in Parnell Park, when both sides were without their FItzgibbon Cup men.

Over the course of their four games 35 different players enjoyed game-time with Dublin scoring 5-88 and conceding 0-71 over the course of their four games.

Oisín O'Rorke was Dublin's top scorer with 0-25 (0-10f) while Eamonn Dillon (two), John Hetherton, Donal Burke and Aidan Mellett were the goalscorers.

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DUBLIN'S 2020 HL DIVISION 1 GROUP B: Schedule

Round 1: Kilkenny v Dublin, Sunday, January 26, UPMC Nowlan Park, 2.0

Round 2: Dublin v Laois, Sunday, February 2, Parnell Park, 2.0

Round 3: Carlow v Dublin, Saturday, February 15, Netwatch Cullen Park, 5.0

Round 4: Dublin v Wexford, Saturday, February 22, Croke Park, 5.0

Round 5: Clare v Dublin, Sunday, March 1, Cusack Park Ennis, 2.0

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ROLL OF HONOUR: National Hurling League Division 1

Tipperary (19): 1927–28, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1999, 2001, 2008

Kilkenny (17): 1932–33, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1994–95, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018

Cork (14): 1925–26, 1929–30, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1992–93, 1998

Limerick (11): 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1946–47, 1970–71, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1991–92, 1997, 2019

Galway (10): 1930–31, 1950–51, 1974–75, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2017

Wexford (4): 1955–56, 1957–58, 1966–67, 1972–73

Clare (4): 1945-46, 1976-77, 1977-78, 2016

DUBLIN (3): 1928-29, 1938-39, 2011

Waterford (3): 1962-63, 2007, 2015

Offaly (1): 1990-91

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DUBLIN v KILKENNY: Recent HL meetings

2017 HL DIVISION 1A

SUNDAY, MARCH 26: Parnell Park

DUBLIN 1-16 KILKENNY 2-20

Dublin went on to face Clare in a relegation play-off after losing to Kilkenny in this HL Division 1A encounter at Parnell Park.
The Dubs played for 40 minutes with 14 men after goalkeeper Gary Maguire was sent off (straight red card) in the 31st minute for a foul on Liam Blanchfield as he fired to the net.
It was a real turning point in the game as the Dubs had contested very well and led 0-9 to 1-3 after 30 minutes.
Sub keeper Conor Dooley had to be introduced forcing the substitution of Eoghan Conroy as the Cats progressed to hold a 2-5 to 0-10 lead at the interval.
Kilkenny's opening goal arrived in the seventh minute when the influential Conor Martin was in the right spot to finish to the net past Maguire following terrific build-up play by Colin Fennelly.
Dublin had been backed by the wind in the opening half and carried the battle to the Cats.
Donal Burke, a year out of the minor grade, showed several glimpses of his class with one superb first half fetch and long-range angled free as well as a stylish point from play from a difficult angle.
Kilkenny with the advantage of the wind and the extra man restarted the better with points from Liam Blanchfield and Colin Fennelly.
However, Dublin responded brilliantly with a Donal Burke goal after Ryan O'Dwyer's initial effort was parried by keeper Eoin Murphy to bring the sides level.
It was nip and tuck for the following ten minutes before Brian Cody's men began to put distance between the counties on the scoreboard.
Two excellent points from Chris Crummey and Ben Quinn had the Dubs trailing by the minimum, 1-14 to 2-12, with 20 minutes remaining.
But Kilkenny then hit a flurry of points with TJ Reid and Conor Martin to the fore to help their side eventually ease to victory.
Dublin had one late goal sighting but Rian McBride's well struck effort was matched by the athleticism of Murphy in goals to deny the St Vincent's clubman.
SCORERS - Kilkenny: TJ Reid 0-10 (0-6f), C Martin 1-5, L Blanchfield 1-2, C Fogarty, W Walsh, R Hogan 0-1 each. Dublin: D Burke 1-9 (0-7), C Crummey 0-3, B Quinn, R O'Dwyer, C Boland, N McMorrow 0-1 each.
KILKENNY: E Murphy; P Murphy, P Walsh, C O'Shea; C Fogarty, J Cleere, S Prendergast; P Deegan, C Buckley; C Fennelly, W Walsh, TJ Reid; L Blanchfield, R Hogan, C Martin. Subs: J Holden for P Walsh (ht), P Lyng for Hogan (52), K Joyce for O'Shea (61).
DUBLIN: G Maguire; F O Riain Broin, E O'Donnell, S Barrett; C Crummey, L Rushe, C Mac Gabhann; B Quinn, D Fox; E Conroy, N McMorrow, R O'Dwyer; C Boland, D Burke, E Dillon. Subs: C Dooley for Conroy (31), R McBride for Mac Gabhann (52), C O'Sullivan for Boland (58), F Whitely for Fox (65).
REF: P O'Dwyer (Carlow).

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2016 NHL DIVISION 1A

SUNDAY, MARCH 20: Nowlan Park, Kilkenny

KILKENNY 0-23 DUBLIN 1-14 Kilkenny saw off the Dublin challenge in this HL Division 1A clash at Nowlan Park in front of a crowd of 8,871.
With both sides already qualified for the quarter-finals this tie lacked a real ‘championship’ bite with the Cats always held the upperhand and led 0-7 to 0-1 inside 19 mintues.
By the break they were 0-14 to 1-3 clear with Fionntán Mac Gibb, who started instead of David O’Callaghan, grabbing the Dublin goal to temporarily arrest Kilkenny’s momentum.
However, with TJ Reid to the fore from frees and open play Kilkenny reeled off six unanswered points to establish an eight-point interval advantage.
Dublin rallied in the second half with Eamonn Dillon and Mac Gibb causing problems for the Kilkenny rearguard.
Late on Dillon did have a goal chance but was denied by Richie Reid in the 70th minute.
SCORERS - Kilkenny: TJ Reid 0-11 (0-6f), W Walsh, R Hogan 0-3 each, P Walsh, L Ryan 0-2 each, J Power, K Joyce (0-1f) 0-1 each. Dublin: D Treacy 0-5 (0-4f), F Mac Gibb 1-1, E Dillon 0-3, N McMorrow 0-2, M Schutte, L Rushe, J McCaffrey 0-1 each.
KILKENNY: R Reid; J Tyrrell, J Holden, B Kennedy; P Walsh, K Joyce, C Buckley; L Ryan, D Cody; W Walsh, TJ Reid, J Maher; JJ Farrell, J Power; R Hogan.Subs: M Malone for Maher (61), S Prendergast for Tyrrell (61), K Kelly for Malone (72).
DUBLIN: G Maguire; E O'Donnell, C O'Callaghan, O Gough; C Crummey, L Rushe, S Barrett; D O'Connell, G Whelan; C Cronin, N McMorrow, D Treacy; F Mac Gibb, E Dillon, M Schutte. Subs: J McCaffrey for Whelan (28), S McGrath for Cronin (46), S Treacy for O'Connell (61)
REF: J Keenan (Wicklow).

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2015 HL DIVISION 1A

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22: Nowlan Park, Kilkenny

DUBLIN 0-25 KILKENNY 3-11
Dublin's hurlers maintained their early season momentum when defeating Kilkenny in this HL Division 1A clash at Nowlan Park.
This win was Dublin's first victory against the Cats in Nowlan Park since 1964 (Walsh Cup match). Dublin did beat Kilkenny in November 1989 in NHL action in Callan while the previous NHL victory in Nowlan Park was in March 1961.
While there was five point between the sides at the finish Dublin were by far the better side and led by 14 points, 0-24 to 1-7, with 15 minutes remaining.
Dublin's cause was greatly helped by the sending off of two Kilkenny players (both straight reds) with Jonjo Farrell controversially sent off in the 24th minute and sub Joe Lyng in the 55th minute following a high pull on Cian Boland.
However, Dublin played some excellent hurling showing great composure and precision in their play as the hit the ground running from the first whistle to put the Cats on the back foot.
A superb Peter Kelly point on the run in the opening minute set the early tone and by the 11th minute Ger Cunningham's men were 0-7 to 0-1 to the good.
Danny Sutcliffe's power in the air and over the ground were to the fore as the St Jude's man clipped two stylish points while David Treacy was excellent form play and placed balls.
One of the best points of the game arrived in the 11th minute when Shane Durkin showed good vision and timing to reverse the ball to Kelly who split the post form the halfway line.
However, Dublin were punished in the 16th minute when Matthew Ruth was rewarded for his persistence when he first blocked a Paul Schutte attempted clearance before reacting quickest to steer the sliotar past Alan Nolan and then tap into an empty net.
Crucially though Dublin reacted with a Simon Lambert point.
There was just the minimum, 0-8 to 1-4, between the sides when full-forward Farrell was red-carded and it had a telling effect on the game.
Dublin quickly upped the tempo and points from Eamonn Dillon and two Treacy scores (one '65') settled the Dubs.
The Dubs also finished the half in a blitz of scores with Treacy scoring the concluding four points of the half to enter the break 0-15 to 1-5 to the good.
Early points in the second half from Mark Schutte and Sutcliffe strengthened Dublin's position and with Peter Kelly operating as the free man at the back the Dublin defence found itself under little concerted pressure.
Dublin's work-rate didn't drop with the likes of Chris Crummey getting through a mountain of work and Shane Durkin's fine 54th minute points had Dublin 0-24 to 1-7 clear.
However, Dublin were punished in the final ten minutes of the game when Richie Hogan blasted a 23-metre free to the net and four minutes from time Ruth whipped to the net from close range to close the gap.
As the game ticked into added time Danny Sutcliffe was sent off on a second yellow card.
SCORERS - Dublin: D Treacy 0-11 (0-4f, 0-3 '65'), D Sutcliffe 0-4, M Schutte, E Dillon 0-3 each, P Kelly 0-2, S Lambert, S Durkin 0-1 each. Kilkenny: R Hogan 1-7 (1-5f, 0-1 '65'), M Ruth 2-0, JJ Farrell, P Walsh, W Walsh, M Kelly 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: A Nolan; C O’Callaghan, M Carton, P Schutte; C Crummey, P Kelly, C Keaney; S Durkin, S Lambert; C Cronin, E Dillon, D Sutcliffe; D Treacy, L Rushe, M Schutte. Subs: C Boland for Cronin (53), P Ryan for Treacy (65).
KILKENNY: E Murphy; T Keogh, P Murphy, J Tyrrell; B Kennedy, K Joyce, C Buckley; G Brennan, L Ryan; P Walsh, W Walsh, M Ruth; M Kelly, J Farrell, R Hogan. Subs: J Power for Brennan (43), J Lyng for Kennedy (43).
REF: C Lyons (Cork).