Putting your money where your medic is
September 9th, 2009 by Kevin EganAfter the glamour and the tension of last Sunday’s final, we come back closer to Earth this weekend with the Under 21 hurling final the highlight of the weekend. We say closer rather than the whole way back to Earth since it still has the potential to be a pretty fantastic match up.
This Clare team have done their county proud this season with a string of fine performances. They had a good local derby win over Limerick before securing the Munster Title that they probably deserved in 2008 with a great win over Waterford in Fraher Field. Against Galway in the semi final they stepped up the intensity another notch and came away with a memorable win despite the best efforts of Joe Canning.
While Kilkenny can’t be held responsible for their much handier path to the All Ireland final, the fact remains that they can point to no such indicators of quality. They were just about the better team in their three and four point wins over Offaly and Dublin respectively, while double digit successes over Laois and Antrim tell us very little about where this team of Cats really stands. Of course they have several hurlers who excelled in their All Ireland success at this grade in 2008 and several more who have accumulated plenty of other accolades, but this still tells us little about their overall ability as a team, something which looked in doubt for long spells of both the semi-final and final of their provincial campaign.
The injury news is equally cloudy, making it doubly difficult to call this game with any great level of confidence. Clare’s dual player Seán Collins is a definite absentee, but much more relevant is the uncertainty surrounding the two star forwards, Darach Honan for Clare and Richie Hogan for Kilkenny. Honan has been suffering from hamstring problems since lining out for Clonlara in the Clare SHC, while Hogan sustained a tendon injury in last Sunday’s final and is also unable to train at the moment.
Put simply, in the absence of confirmation regarding either or both of these players, then no bet can be recommended. However this post is still worthwhile, since it should highlight the advantage of being informed and ready to pounce if and when any definite information comes to light. Should one of the two leading players be available and the other not, then that would make the fit player’s county a very strong bet at the odds recommended. In particular, if Honan misses out, it’s very difficult to see Clare coming up with the scores needed, since they place such reliance on their twin attack of Honan and Colin Ryan.
Kilkenny on the other hand can still point to an outstanding half forward line of Colin Fennelly, Mark Bergin and John Mulhall and even if Hogan is unfit to line out, that line should win enough primary possession and indeed take enough scores of their own to still accumulate a healthy total, even in the face of what has been a tigerish Clare defence.
The black and amber jerseys alone can often spook opponents and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Clare would implode on the day, but that is allowed for in the prices since on paper, these teams should have little or nothing between them. However taking a star forward out of either side will cause serious problems and it’s worth being ready to cash in if such information becomes available later in the week.
Tags: Clare, Hogan, Honan, Hurling, Kilkenny, under 21
Categories: Hurling
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