SHC ‘A’ semi-finals to provide plenty of action

The Dublin SHC 'A' race is down to the last four with the semi-finals taking place this Sunday in Parnell Park as part of a double-header.

First up is the meeting of Craobh Chiaráin and St Brigid's (2.30) to be followed by the clash of Cuala and St Vincent's (4.30)- both games will be streamed LIVE on Dubs TV. 

Check out the new DubZone GAA Club podcast, as we look ahead to this weekend's action. 

The meeting of St Brigid's and Craobh sees the Russell Park outfit's boss, Johnny McGuirk, pit his wits against one of her former Craobh team-mates Ger Ryan.

“Of course, I spent 15 years playing for Craobh and I had some great times there but I have now being involved with St Brigid’s for 15 years as well and the club is very important to me," said Johnny.

“I have a lot of respect for them and from our perspective, we now that we have a huge battle ahead of us.

“They are hurlers, plain and simple, and are very intelligent on the ball and have a high skill level.

“They play to a plan that suits them and gets the best out of their talents and we are well aware that we have a lot of work to do between now and Sunday in terms of getting our lads right for the tough challenge that awaits us.”

In recent weeks Brigid's have overcome St Jude's in their concluding game of the group stages before defeating Na Fianna in their quarter-final.

“You would have to be happy with where we are at the moment and it’s great to have a county semi-final to look forward to," added the St Brigid's manager.

“St Jude’s were a test and I thought that we hurled well against them and Na Fianna are a fine team so we were pleased to get over that challenge.

“However, we weren’t too pleased with the way that we saw out that game and it’s fair to say that we hit far too many wides.

“We need to be far more clinical than we were against Na Fianna and our conversion rate needs to be much better.

“I believe that we should have been far more comfortable by the end and we need to just trust ourselves more and trust the ability that we have.

“The team have definitely progressed this year and that development has been totally player-driven.

“The bulk of these lads have hurled at a high level at underage and have come very close to winning championships at the younger grades but for a number of reasons, they just fell short.

“I think that eventually, the penny has to drop, and if what you are doing is not enough to get you over the line, then changes have to be made if you want to be successful."

On Saturday the Dublin SHC 'B' takes place in Parnell Park between Scoil Uí Chonaill and Thomas Davis (5.0).

SATURDAY

DUBLIN SHC 'B' FINAL

Parnell Park: Scoil Uí Chonaill v Thomas Davis, 5.0.

SUNDAY

DUBLIN SHC 'A' SEMI-FINALS

Parnell Park: St Brigid's v Craobh Chiaráin, 2.30

Parnell Park: St Vincent's v Cuala, 4.30.