Dublin hurlers lift their first National League trophy since 1939

Good things come to he who waits, and Dublin’s hurlers had certainly waited a long time prior to Sunday’s sweet victory over Kilkenny in the Allianz Hurling League final.

Dublin 0-22 Kilkenny 1-7

When Ireland won the rugby Grand Slam in 2009 there can’t have been too many in the crowd at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff who would have been able to recall the previous time it had happened, way back in 1948.

If the wait for Irish rugby fans had been long, it had been even more so for the hardy followers of Dublin’s hurlers.

Dublin won their first Allianz Hurling League title since 1939, meaning that only those fans aged in their late 70s or older would have been able to recall the sweet taste of victory in the National League before now.

But on Sunday it finally happened for the Metropolitans again, and against hurling giants Kilkenny to boot.

For a very long time, hurling finals at Croke Park had been occasions when two teams would travel from across the country to the imposing neutral stadium in the capital’s Northside.

But there was a palpable feeling of a Dublin home tie this May Day as a swathe of blue filled Headquarters, and the Dublin team repaid the ever-growing support they were getting by working like dogs to ensure that a famous victory would be theirs

Unlike with football, and outside of the traditional hurling counties, it can sometimes feel as if hurling success is down to inspirational individuals. In Dublin right now, that inspirational figure is Anthony Daly and the National League win marks the moment when the promise of success was converted into silverware.

Now both the Dublin hurlers and their fans can head into the Championship campaign with a spring in their collective step.

For the Kilkenny Cats, on the other hand, it’s time to lick their wounds – the team who contested the final looked nothing like a team who had until very recently been so dominant for so long.

Power

As the Metropolitans powered ahead, the Cats only managed one point from open play all afternoon. Their woes were confounded in the first half when, in the 25th minute, Eoin Larkin was given a straight red following a nasty clash with Conor McCormack.

Before being down to 14 men they did manage to score the only goal of the game, which came in the 10th minute as a result of a long-range free from TJ Reid which was deftly gathered by Richie Hogan who then slipped the sliotar inside to Eddie Brennan who had put himself in the right spot to fire into the back of the net.

This levelled things, cancelling out earlier scores from Dublin’s Ryan O’Dwyer and Paul Ryan, but Ryan regained the lead for the Dubs in the 16th minute when a free was immediately turned into a point.

Dublin’s teamwork then really started to play dividends, with Paul Ryan bringing his tally up to six at one end of the field while Niall Corcoran and Peter Kelly were thwarting the Cats’ best efforts at the other end.

Eight on the spin came during an increasingly frustrating 21-minute barren patch for Kilkenny.

Whistle

By half-time, Dublin led by 0-11 to 1-02. Conor McCormack thought he’d made it 1-11 to Dublin when when he whacked the sliotar into the netting, having failed to notice the whistle as he’d made his long run up the field.

After the break the Dubs had to contend with a spell of pressure from their now wind-assisted opponents, and with the loss of centre back Joey Boland after he suffered a shoulder injury.

But by this stage Dublin could sense victory. A fightback from Kilkenny never materialised and Dublin pushed ahead, with McCormack, substitute Maurice O’Brien and Ryan O’Dwyer all splitting the posts.

All Kilkenny could manage were a few converted frees from TJ Reid. Dublin, meanwhile, were enjoying themselves, Liam Rushe forcing a turnover of possession that sent Conal Keaney in for a point.

The game was all but over with ten minutes to go, leaving subs David Treacy and Simon Lambert, captain John McCaffrey, and a thrilled Keaney to each make the gap between themselves and their opponents wider and wider.

There’ll no doubt be sleepless nights in both Dublin and Kilkenny this evening. In the case of Kilkenny they’ll be wondering what went wrong; in Dublin they’ll be excitedly thinking about what comes next, as they’ll be determined to make it a much shorter wait until they next get the chance to come good on the big stage.

Nick Bradshaw