Senior hurlers look to bounce back against Tribesmen

It’s straight into Round 2 of the Allianz Hurling League next weekend after an opening series of games that produced lots of drama across all the divisions.

Two Hurling League Division 1A games will be played on Saturday night, both shown on Setanta TV, while the Kilkenny v Tipperary clash will be shown live on TG4 on Sunday, followed by a deferred screening of Wexford and Clare.

HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1A: WINNERS v LOSERS IN ALL THREE GAMES

Saturday (7pm)

Hurling League Division 1A:Cork v Waterford, Pairc Ui Rinn; Dublin v Galway, Parnell Park

Sunday (2pm)

Hurling League Division 1A:Kilkenny v Tipperary, Nowlan Park

Three mouth-watering ties are in prospect, featuring the three first round winners, Waterford, Galway and Tipperary against the three losers, Cork, Dublin and Kilkenny.

Waterford made a great start to their defence of the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 title on Sunday, beating Kilkenny by four points in Walsh Park and will head for Pairc Ui Rinn on Saturday night to take on Cork, who lost to Galway by six points.

Waterford recorded a big double over Cork last year, beating the Rebels by 1-24 to 0-17 in the Allianz Hurling League final in early May and by 3-19 to 1-21 in the Munster semi-final in June. However, Cork have a win over Waterford this year, running out 2-18 to 0-13 winners in a Munster SH League tie in mid-January.

Dublin also enjoyed a January success over next Saturday’s rivals, Galway, winning The Walsh Cup semi-final by 1-28 to 1-19. They also beat Galway, 0-26 to 2-14, in last year’s Allianz Hurling League but suffered a big defeat against the Tribesmen (5-19 to 1-18) in the Leinster quarter-final replay, having drawn (0-20 to 1-17).

The Kilkenny-Tipperary clash in Nowlan Park is the Sunday highlight, especially after the All-Ireland champions’ defeat by Waterford. Defeats in the first two rounds of the Allianz Hurling League are most unusual for Kilkenny, who will be determined to get back on track against their neighbours.

Tipperary beat Kilkenny by 2-22 to 1-13 in last year’s Allianz Hurling League, having lost to the Cats in the group game and final in 2014.

HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B: CAN KERRY STRIKE AGAIN?

Sunday (2pm)
Hurling League Division 1B: Wexford v Clare, Innovate Wexford Park, Kerry v Limerick, Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney; Offaly v Laois, O’Connor Park, Tullamore.

Kerry’s excellent performance was the main talking point after Round 1 of the Division 1B Allianz Hurling League, having beaten Laois in O’Moore Park by seven points. It was a great start for the promoted Kingdom, who will have home advantage for their next outing against a Limerick team that made a superb start too, beating Wexford by 2-23 to 0-15. Limerick beat Kerry by 2-23 to 0-18 in the first round of the Munster SH League in early January in the Gaelic Grounds.

Clare’s determination to return to Allianz Hurling League Division 1A at the first attempt was underlined by their impressive win over Offaly last Sunday so they will be full of confidence as they head to Wexford to take on a home side that suffered a big defeat against Limerick last Saturday.

Clare and Wexford did not meet in last year’s Allianz Hurling League as they were in different divisions but the Wexford men enjoyed a famous victory in the 2014 All-Ireland qualifiers, winning by 2-25 to 2-22 (after extra-time) in a replay.
Two defeats are usually enough to end a team’s promotion chances from the Allianz Hurling League Division 1B, which adds to the pressure on Offaly and Laois. They both lost last Sunday, making their clash in Tullamore crucial to their chances of staying in the promotion race.

Offaly beat Laois by four points in last year’s Allianz Hurling League but Laois turned the tables in the Leinster championship, winning 0-29 to 0-21.

HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2A: WINNERS v LOSERS IN ALL THREE GAMES

Sunday (1pm)

Hurling League Division 2A: Carlow v London, Netwatch Cullen Park, Westmeath v Derry, Cusack Park, Antrim v Kildare, Ballycastle

As in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A it’s the three first round winners, Carlow, Westmeath and Antrim against the three losers, London, Derry, Kildare.

Antrim, who dropped down from the Allianz Hurling League Division 1B this year, will fancy their chances of further boosting their promotion chances when they host Kildare, who were promoted from the Allianz Hurling League Division 2B at the end of last season.
Carlow beat London by 3-12 to 0-7 in last year’s Allianz Hurling League while Derry beat Westmeath by 2-15 to 3-10.

HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2B: MEATH, MAYO, DOWN MAKE EARLY PROGRESS

Sunday (2pm)

Hurling League Division 2B:Donegal v Armagh, Letterkenny; Down v Wicklow, Ballycran; Meath v Mayo, Trim

Down, Mayo and Meath all picked up their first points last weekend so the winners of the Meath v Mayo game will put themselves in an excellent position in the early promotion drive. Meath beat Mayo by 3-8 to 0-9 in last year’s Allianz Hurling League.
Down beat neighbours, Armagh last weekend and will be hoping for another win against Wicklow, who began with a defeat by Meath, having dropped down from the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A at the end of last season. Armagh beat Donegal by five points in last year’s Allianz Hurling League.

HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3A: FINGALSHOW EARLY PROMISE

Saturday (2pm)

Hurling League Division 3A: Warwickshire v Louth, Pairc na hEireann, Birmingham

Sunday (2pm)

Hurling League Division 3A: Roscommon v Monaghan, Athleague; Tyrone v Fingal, Omagh

Fingal were last weekend’s biggest winners right across the Allianz Hurling League divisions, beating Warwickshire by 21 points while next Sunday’s opponents, Tyrone, beat Monaghan by five points. Tyrone beat Fingal by a point in last year’s Allianz Hurling League. Warwickshire, who were promoted from the Allianz Hurling League Division 3B for this season, host Louth who lost to Roscommon at the weekend.