Senior hurlers must beat Clare to avoid trapdoor

The group stages of the  Hurling League are over and now it’s knock-out time in Division 1, with finals and relegation play-offs across the various divisions.

Next weekend’s busy schedule is as follows:

SATURDAY

Allianz Hurling League Division 1B relegation play-off: Laois v Kerry, O’Moore Park, 7.0

Allianz Hurling League Division 2A final: Antrim v Carlow, Newry. 3.0

Allianz Hurling League Division 2B final: Meath v Wicklow, Parnell Park, 5.0

Allianz Hurling League Division 3A final: Donegal v Tyrone, Carrick-on-Shannon, 2.0

Allianz Hurling League Division 2B relegation play-off: Roscommon v Mayo (venue and time to be announced)

SUNDAY

Allianz Hurling League Division 1 quarter-finals: Offaly v Tipperary, Tullamore; Cork v Limerick Pairc Ui Rinn; Galway v Waterford, Pearse Stadium; Kilkenny v Wexford, Nowlan Park, 4.0

Allianz Hurling League Division 1A relegation play-off: Clare v Dublin, Ennis 4.0

Allianz Hurling League Division 3B final: Longford v Warwickshire, Omagh, 1.30

NHL DIVISION 1A RELEGATION PLAY-OFF

CLARE v DUBLIN

Clare won two and lost three of five games while Dublin won one and lost four. The sides met in the Round 4 on March 12 when Clare won by 0-20 to 1-15 in Ennis. Late points by Aaron Cunningham and Ian Galvin gave Clare a narrow win in a very exciting contest.

Clare are trying to avoid dropping back into Allianz Hurling League 1B after one season in 1A while the last time Dublin were relegated to 1B was in 2012 when they lost a play-off to Galway.

HOW THET GOT HERE

DUBLIN (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1A)

Tipperary 1-24 Dublin 1-8

Dublin 2-19 Cork 1-14

Waterford 2-19 Dublin 1-17

Clare 0-20 Dublin 1-15

Kilkenny 2-20 Dublin 1-16

CLARE (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1A)

Cork 0-21 Clare 1-11

Clare 2-19 Kilkenny 0-12

Tipperary 0-28 Clare 0-21

Clare 0-20 Dublin 1-15

Waterford 2-21 Clare 1-22

NHL DIVISION 1 QUARTER-FINALS

OFFALY v TIPPERARY

They arrive in the quarter-finals via very different routes, with Tipperary topping Allianz Hurling League 1A with three wins, one draw and one defeat while Offaly won one and lost four of five games in Allianz Hurling League 1B.

The counties last met in the Allianz Hurling League two years ago when Tipperary won a quarter-final clash by 1-16 to 0-13. Both lost quarter-finals last year – Tipperary going down to Clare by two points while Offaly lost to Kilkenny by 6-20 to 0-14.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

TIPPERARY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1A)

Tipperary 1-24 Dublin 1-8

Tipperary 1-18 Waterford 0-15

Tipperary 0-28 Clare 0-21

Tipperary 2-17 Kilkenny 3-14

Cork 0-26 Tipperary 3-16

OFFALY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1B)

Galway 6-23 Offaly 1-12

Laois 1-26 Offaly 1-20

Limerick 1-25 Offaly 3-15

Wexford 1-17 Offaly 0-15

Offaly 1-21 Kerry 2-16

CORK v LIMERICK

Cork finished secondAllianz Hurling League 1A, winning three and losing two of five games, while Limerick came third in Allianz Hurling League 1B, winning three and losing two games. This will be the first Allianz Hurling League clash between the counties since 2014 when they drew in the first round of the Allianz Hurling League 1B campaign.

Limerick won a quarter-final tie last year, beating Dublin while Cork didn’t reach the last eight, instead facing an Allianz Hurling League 1A relegation play-off against Galway, which they won.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

CORK (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1A)

Cork 0-21 Clare 1-11

Dublin 2-19 Cork 1-14

Kilkenny 0-22 Cork 0-15

Cork 1-21 Waterford 1-13

Cork 0-26 Tipperary 3-16

LIMERICK (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1B)

Wexford 1-14 Limerick 0-14

Limerick 6-21 Kerry 3-8

Limerick 1-25 Offaly 3-15

Limerick 6-33 Laois 1-19

Galway 0-24 Limerick 1-18

GALWAY v WATERFORD

Waterford finished third in Allianz Hurling League 1A, winning three of five games while Galway came second in 1B, winning four of five games. The counties last met in the Allianz Hurling League last year when it finished level (Waterford 0-24 Galway 1-21) in the last round of Allianz Hurling League 1A group games.

Waterford beat Wexford in last year’s quarter-final while Galway didn’t make the last eight, instead playing Cork in an Allianz Hurling League 1A relegation play-off, which they lost.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

WATERFORD (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1A))

Waterford 1-15 Kilkenny 0-17

Tipperary 1-18 Waterford 0-15

Waterford 2-19 Dublin 1-17

Cork 1-21 Waterford 1-13

Waterford 2-21 Clare 1-22

GALWAY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1B)

Galway 6-23 Offaly 1-12

Wexford 1-21 Galway 3-13

Galway 3-31 Laois 1-11

Galway 1-22 Kerry 0-12

Galway 0-24 Limerick 1-18

KILKENNY v WEXFORD

Kilkenny finished fourth in 1A, winning two, drawing one and losing one of five games while Wexford won all five games on their way to topping Allianz Hurling League 1B.

This will be the first Allianz Hurling League clash between the counties since the 2014 quarter-final, which Kilkenny won by 4-23 to 2-16. Kilkenny beat Offaly in last year’s quarter-final while Wexford lost to Waterford by a point.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

KILKENNY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1A)

Waterford 1-15 Kilkenny 0-17

Clare 2-19 Kilkenny 0-12

Kilkenny 0-22 Cork 0-15

Kilkenny 3-14 Tipperary 2-17

Kilkenny 2-20 Dublin 1-16

WEXFORD (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 1B)

Wexford 1-14 Limerick 0-14

Wexford 1-21 Galway 3-13

Wexford 3-18 Kerry 0-12
Wexford 1-17 Offaly 0-15

Wexford 2-24 Laois 2-20

LAOIS v KERRY

Both won one and lost four of five games. Kerry’s only win was against Laois in the Allianz Hurling League first round while the Laois success came against Offaly. Offaly also lost four of five games but reached the quarter-final on a better scoring difference than Kerry and Laois.

Kerry beat Laois by 3-14 to 0-19 in Tralee in the first round in Allianz Hurling League 1B this year. The Kingdom trailed by nine points at half-time but staged a great second-half comeback and ran out four point winners. Kerry beat Laois twice in last year’s Allianz Hurling League (1-24 to 2-14 in the 1B group games and 2-27 to 1-19 in a relegation play-off)

HOW THEY GOT HERE

KERRY (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B)

Kerry 3-14 Laois 0-19

Limerick 6-21 Kerry 3-8

Wexford 3-18 Kerry 0-12

Galway 1-22 Kerry 0-12

Offaly 1-21 Kerry 2-16

LAOIS (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B)

Kerry 3-14 Laois 0-19

Laois 1-26 Offaly 1-20

Galway 3-31 Laois 1-11

Limerick 6-33 Laois 1-19

Wexford 2-24 Laois 2-20

ANTRIM V CARLOW

Carlow topped the Allianz Hurling League 2A table, winning three and drawing two of five games while Antrim were second after winning three, drawing one and losing one. The counties clashed in Round 2, which ended in a draw (Antrim 2-15 Carlow 0-21) in Netwatch Cullen Park.

Carlow are back in the final for a second successive year, having lost to Westmeath by 0-10 to 0-8 last year.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

ANTRIM (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2A)

Antrim 0-20 London 0-13

Antrim 2-15 Carlow 0-21

Antrim 1-16 Kildare 1-14

Antrim 2-18 Armagh 2-11

Westmeath 0-20 Antrim 1-15

CARLOW (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2A)

Carlow 1-13 Westmeath 1-11

Antrim 2-15 Carlow 0-21

Carlow 3-22 London 2-7

Kildare 2-17 Carlow 1-20

Carlow 4-24 Armagh 0-11

MEATH v WICKLOW

Meath won all five games while Wicklow won four of five, losing only to the Royals last Sunday. However, both had already qualified for the final so next Sunday’s clash will have a much different atmosphere.

Meath won by 3-23 to 1-16 last Sunday.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

MEATH (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2B)

Meath 4-21 Down 1-10

Meath 2-19 Derry 0-16

Meath 2-16 Roscommon 1-16

Meath 2-18 Mayo 0-15

Meath 3-23 Wicklow 1-16

WICKLOW (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2B)

Wicklow 2-17 Roscommon 0-7
Wicklow 2-17 Mayo 1-17

Wicklow 1-21 Derry 1-11
Wicklow 1-18 Down 0-11

Meath 3-23 Wicklow 1-16

DONEGAL v TYRONE

Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan all won four of six games, with Monaghan losing out for a final place on scoring difference. Donegal and Tyrone met twice with one win each (Tyrone 1-12 Donegal 1-10; Donegal 2-14 Tyrone 0-15).

HOW THEY GOT HERE

DONEGAL (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3A)

Donegal 2-23 Louth 1-14

Monaghan 1-21 Donegal 3-14

Tyrone 1-12 Donegal 1-10

Donegal 2-14 Tyrone 0-15

Donegal 1-21 Monaghan 2-13

Donegal 3-24 Louth 1-17

TYRONE (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3A)

Monaghan 3-15 Tyrone 1-11
Tyrone 5-16 Louth 0-12
Tyrone 1-12 Donegal 1-10
Donegal 2-14 Tyrone 0-15
Tyrone 1-23 Louth 2-10

Tyrone 3-15 Monaghan 1-14

LONGFORD v WARWICKSHIRE

They both won three of four games on their way to the final. Longford beat Warwickshire by 2-18 to 2-12 in their group clash.

LONGFORD (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3B)

Longford 2-13 Fermanagh 0-7

Longford 2-19 Leitrim 3-13

Longford 2-18 Warwickshire 2-12

Sligo 3-17 Longford 1-14

WARWICKSHIRE (ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3B)

Warwickshire 3-9 Sligo 3-8
Warwickshire 2-12 Fermanagh 1-9;

Warwickshire 0-18 Leitrim 2-10

Longford 2-18 Warwickshire 2-12

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 2017: RESULTS AND FIXTURES

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1A
Round 1: Cork 0-21 Clare 1-11; Tipperary 1-24 Dublin 1-8; Waterford 1-15 Kilkenny 0-17.
Round 2: Dublin 2-19 Cork 1-14; Clare 2-19 Kilkenny 0-12; Tipperary 1-18 Waterford 0-15.
Round 3: Waterford 2-19 Dublin 1-17; Kilkenny 0-22 Cork 0-15; Tipperary 0-28 Clare 0-21
Round 4: Tipperary 2-17 Kilkenny 3-14; Clare 0-20 Dublin 1-15; Cork 1-21 Waterford 1-13.
Round 5: Cork 0-26 Tipperary 3-16; Waterford 2-21 Clare 1-22; Kilkenny 2-20 Dublin 1-16.

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Round 1: Kerry 3-14 Laois 0-19; Galway 6-23 Offaly 1-12; Wexford 1-14 Limerick 0-14.
Round 2: Laois 1-26 Offaly 1-20; Wexford 1-21 Galway 3-13; Limerick 6-21 Kerry 3-8.
Round 3: Limerick 1-25 Offaly 3-15; Galway 3-31 Laois 1-11; Wexford 3-18 Kerry 0-12.
Round 4: Limerick 6-33 Laois 1-19; Wexford 1-17 Offaly 0-15; Galway 1-22 Kerry 0-12.
Round 5: Offaly 1-21 Kerry 2-16; Wexford 2-24 Laois 2-20; Galway 0-24 Limerick 1-18.

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALS
Apr 2: Tipperary v Offaly; Kilkenny v Wexford; Galway v Waterford; Limerick v Cork
SEMI-FINALS: Apr 16: Tipperary/Offaly v Kilkenny/Wexford; Galway/Waterford v Limerick/Cork
FINAL: Apr 23

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2A
Round 1: Antrim 0-20 London 0-13; Kildare 1-18 Armagh 1-15; Carlow 1-13 Westmeath 1-11.
Round 2: Antrim 2-15 Carlow 0-21; Kildare 1-16 Westmeath 0-14; Armagh 1-13 London 1-13.
Round 3: Carlow 3-22 London 2-7; Westmeath 3-29 Armagh 0-16; Antrim 1-16 Kildare 1-14.
Round 4: Westmeath 2-20 London 2-7; Antrim 2-18 Armagh 2-11; Kildare 2-17 Carlow 1-20.
Round 5: Kildare 1-21 London 2-14; Westmeath 0-20 Antrim 1-15; Carlow 4-24 Armagh 0-11.
Final: Apr 1: Antrim v Carlow

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2B
Round 1: Derry 1-14 Mayo 1-13; Meath 4-21 Down 1-10; Wicklow 2-17 Roscommon 0-7.
Round 2: Down 1-21 Roscommon 1-16; Meath 2-19 Derry 0-16; Wicklow 2-17 Mayo 1-17.
Round 3: Meath 2-16 Roscommon 1-16; Wicklow 1-21 Derry 1-11; Down 2-23 Mayo 0-12.
Round 4: Derry 3-16 Roscommon 0-12; Wicklow 1-18 Down 0-11; Meath 2-18 Mayo 0-15.
Round 5: Down 2-22 Derry 2-15; Mayo 1-21 Roscommon 2-14; Meath 3-23 Wicklow 1-16
Final: Apr 1: Meath v Wicklow

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3A
Round 1: Donegal 2-23 Louth 1-14; Monaghan 3-15 Tyrone 1-11.
Round 2: Monaghan 1-21Donegal 3-14; Tyrone 5-16 Louth 0-12
Round 3: Tyrone 1-12 Donegal 1-10; Monaghan 1-10 Louth 1-8.
Round 4: Monaghan 2-12 Louth 2-9; Donegal 2-14 Tyrone 0-15.
Round 5: Donegal 1-21 Monaghan 2-13; Tyrone 1-23 Louth 2-10
Round 6: Donegal 3-24 Louth 1-17; Tyrone 3-15 Monaghan 1-14
Final: Apr 1: Donegal v Tyrone

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 3B
Round 1: Warwickshire 3-9 Sligo 3-8; Longford 2-13 Fermanagh 0-7
Round 2: Warwickshire 2-12 Fermanagh 1-9; Longford 2-19 Leitrim 3-13.
Round 3: Fermanagh 2-15 Sligo 1-14; Warwickshire 0-18 Leitrim 2-10
Round 4: Sligo 3-17 Leitrim 1-15; Longford 2-18 Warwickshire 2-12.
Round 5: Leitrim 4-11 Fermanagh 1-14; Sligo 3-17 Longford 1-14.
Final: Apr 2: Longford v Warwickshire