Lucan Sarsfields Chris Crummey will be a big loss for Dublin in the All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final against Cork in Croke Park this Saturday
Photo by Matthew Lysaght
Dubs look to pop Cork in All-Ireland hurling semis
THE last time the Dublin hurlers reached an All-Ireland Semi Final was back in 2013.
Funnily enough that match also saw them take on Cork.
Dublin were off the back of an incredible provincial campaign which had seen them beat Kilkenny and Galway but in the end they did not have enough to get past the rebel county being on the wrong end of a 1-19 to 1-24 scoreline on the day.
While this year they have not been as dominant with no provincial success to speak of, the route to the semi final may be even more memorable thanks to that amazing victory against Limerick during the quarter final.
Certainly one of the upsets of hurling nobody had given Dublin a chance in the game, even less so after going a man down 15 minutes in. Yet they defied the odds and pulled off a generational performance.
Unfortunately the heroics of two Saturdays ago are all behind us now and Dublin have to look ahead, they find themselves again as massive underdogs coming into the game with Cork now being viewed as the obvious favourites for the Liam McCarthy thanks to Limerick’s untimely exit.
Dublin will be relying on performances to at least match and possibly surpass the level that was shown against Limerick.
That backline with the likes of Lucan Sarsfields’ John Bellew all the way up to the full forwards with Commercials GAA man Diarmaid O Dulaing and St Judes Danny Sutcliffe will need to be at their very best.
Super sub from the quarter final John Hetherton made an excellent case for himself to start but with every player giving top performances it is hard to say who should be removed in the team to make way.
Dublin will be without Lucan Sarsfields’ Chris Crummey in the semi after he received a straight red card for a high tackle on Gearoid O Hegarty.
Cork also will be without star man Seamus Harnedy who performed so well for them in the Munster final vs Limerick earlier on this year.
Defender Ger Mellerick remains a doubt for the rebels as he is still recovering from a broken finger while captain Robert Downey, Niall O’Leary and Declan Dalton are all set to be available for selection after returning from injury.
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