It’s a hurling championship that so far has failed to sparkle.Too much emphasis on tactics, systems, sweepers, clogging up the middle third and so on.
Every weekend, one hopes that a sense of freedom will prevail and that the fare on offer will have us on the edge of our seats.
If anything, though, Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final pairings of Dublin against Waterford and Cork taking on Galway should also be close, tight affairs. The expectation that Semple Stadium will witness something enthralling is harder to predict. All four sides will no doubt be solely focused on booking a semi-final date at Croker in August.
Dublin and Waterford are first into action in Thurles at 2pm.
In looking ahead to the game, former Kilkenny star Eddie Brennan observed that “both counties play very defensively.”
In furthering his point, he added: "They play low numbers up front, congest the middle third of the pitch and defend their goal by getting a lot of bodies back. In that regard, Sunday’s game will be an intriguing battle and I think it will be a case of whatever team has more faith in their system will win."
It’s all about the systems
Waterford suffered their first defeat of the year when going down to Tipperary in the Munster final. They fell just short in that game and Brennan doesn’t think coach Derek McGrath will change their approach at this juncture.
"Waterford have stuck with their system all year long and then came up against a Tipperary outfit that were able to deal with it. It’s important for them that doubts don't start to creep in now. They have to believe in their approach and have to trust it."
As for Dublin, the eight-time All-Ireland winner was impressed with the resolve they showed in defeating Limerick the last day, though the Shannonsiders’ challenge, he felt, left a lot to be desired.
“I was impressed with Dublin's work-rate, but I thought Limerick were shocking and the scoreline flattered them despite the fact that they went nine points up at one stage.
“The Dubs, to be fair, showed great belief and after their mauling by Galway are now only 70 minutes away from getting to an All-Ireland semi-final. That would be some turnaround."
However, Brennan expects the Déise to make the last-four.
"They've shown more on the pitch all year to just get the better of a Dublin side who certainly won't lack for endeavour. Not to be labouring the point but Waterford's system is that bit more advanced and that should also help to get them over the line against more experienced opposition."
Stats check: Dublin and Waterford have meet three times previously in the championship.
2005: Waterford 4-17 Dublin 1-03 (All-Ireland qualifiers)
1948: Waterford 6-07 Dublin 2-02 (All-Ireland final)
1938: Dublin 2-05 Waterford 1-06 (All-Ireland final)
Watch action from the 1938 decider
Goals win games
The second quarter-final at 4pm involving Cork and Galway is, according to Brennan, “fierce hard to call.”
In making his prediction, he opined that "Galway’s attack might be better equipped to make inroads and that could just shade it for them.
"The one Achilles heel that Cork have is that they don’t score enough goals, even though the likes of Seamus Harnedy and Conor Lehane are finding good form. If it comes down to a shoot-out, I’d have to go with Galway.
"Joe Canning, like he did the last day, is capable of doing great things in an instant. I also think they are slightly ahead of Cork in the physicality stakes."
That said, our analyst was surprised at the lack of belief that encompassed the Tribesmen's Leinster final defeat to Kilkenny.
"I think the problem for Galway was that they never got three or four points ahead of Kilkenny. If they had, they would have asked serious questions of the Cats.
"On the day, they didn’t look like they had the belief in themselves and accepted that they weren't good enough to win. They needed to work a bit more against a Kilkenny team that defended well."
JBM’s new approach
The defeat to Waterford in the Munster semi-final brought about a change in how Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s side now approach games – changes that were evident in the wins over Wexford and Clare.
For Brennan, the Rebels have now “embraced the modern era, with a greater focus on defending in numbers."
Reflecting on Cork’s win over Clare, he added: “Brian Lawton followed Tony Kelly all over the place in a man-marking role. The side are willing to concede a lot of ground up front and have extra bodies back. This is a new departure for a Cork team that have been tactically naive over the last few seasons.
"That said, they came very close to winning an All-Ireland two years ago."
Stats check: Sunday's game will be the 33rd championship clash between the counties, with Cork winning 25 to Galway’s seven from the previous 32. All of the Connacht side's seven wins have come in the last 40 years, a period in which they lead Cork 7-6. Galway have won their last three championship clashes with the Rebels.
2012: Galway 0-22 Cork 0-17 (All-Ireland semi-final)
2011: Galway 2-23 Cork 1-14 (All-Ireland qualifiers)
2009: Galway 1-19 Cork 0-15 (All-Ireland qualifiers)
2008: Cork 0-23 Galway 2-15 (All-Ireland qualifiers)
2005: Cork 1-21 Galway 1-16 (All-Ireland final)
2002: Galway 0-21 Cork 1-9 (All-Ireland qualifier)
