Galway are due one huge display but I dread thought of penalties
There'll be no trophies given out in Limerick on Saturday evening, but the result will determine which of Micheál Donoghue or Liam Cahill ends the season in credit.An All-Ireland semi-final would represent Cahill's best performance yet as Tipperary manager. But lose and it'll be an anti-climax after a very decent showing in Munster, much like two years ago.Reaching the last four would represent a decent year's work for Donoghue. Anything less and it will mean that they will have failed in the three biggest tests put down to them in this year's Championship.I would doubt if either side can take out Cork, if that's how it works out, but reaching a semi-final is not to be sniffed at.Galway have struggled for consistency all year. Two things stand out with them for me - the lack of a goal threat and their inability to get up for every game. Worryingly, their work rate varies from match to match.Granted, they scored six goals against Antrim, but we were a man down and weren't set up as we normally would be defensively.But they have to come with that bite this time. They had it against Dublin. It wasn't there against Kilkenny until it was too late. Kilkenny, for example, always have that bite. Galway need to find it more often.I feel that they are committing too many bodies back the field too. I can understand that to a degree, but sometimes they only have two in the opposition half.In fairness to Donoghue, this is his first year with a different group to when he last managed Galway. It takes time. Cahill has had three years now.His Tipp side were very hardworking against Limerick and had a massive game in Ennis against Clare which was all the more impressive for the fact that they withstood a fierce second half comeback, dug deep and found a way to win. They showed resilience when things were going against them - something that wasn't too apparent last year.
Cahill made some big decisions in the off-season when cutting a couple of regulars from the panel, which can sometimes cause a manager to lose a group. But it appears to have had the opposite effect.Their work rate and intensity is way up from 2024, especially from the forwards, who are tracking back in numbers but also getting back up the field swiftly. Fitness levels need to be off the charts for this.Robert Doyle, Michael Breen and Eoghan Connolly have been very solid in the full-back line. Ronan Maher has played a captain's role at centre-back, or wherever he's asked to play.Up front, Jason Forde, Darragh McCarthy and Jake Morris are playing really well and, crucially, working extremely hard.John McGrath has recaptured some of his old form, which is great to see, and then you have the likes of his brother Noel, Oisin O'Donoghue and Sam O'Farrell coming off the bench, underlining their strength in depth up front.Galway's full-back line of Pádraic Mannion, Daithí Burke and Fintan Burke has been solid too and while Gavin Lee is a very talented hurler, I'm not sure he's holding the middle well enough for them.Cianan Fahy has done ok at wing-back but I feel he'd be a better option at midfield.Cathal Mannion is a top class forward who will score from anywhere and I'd expect that Tipp will man-mark him. Who that will be, I'm not sure. It won't be Maher, maybe Craig Morgan might be the man.But Galway need Mannion no deeper than the middle of the field. He's too dangerous to be working back in defence.Conor Whelan is a player I've always rated highly but he hasn't hit the levels yet this year. I'd like to see him closer to goal in a two-man inside line alongside Brian Concannon, with Kevin Cooney drifting out. That's an inside line that could wreak serious havoc and supply the goals that Galway are missing.John Fleming is a different type of forward with a high workrate and is worth his spot, but Conor Cooney's struggles to break into the side puzzle me. He's a serious forward with goals in him.I expect that the game will be really tight and Tipperary have earned their status as favourites. But I believe that there's a big one in Galway and I'm going to give them the slight edge.Of course, it could go to extra time and beyond. I only wish they wouldn't resort to penalties to decide the outcome and give the two teams a replay.
On paper, Limerick should have way too much for Dublin and while I expect that they'll win, it mightn't be as straightforward as people expect.Dublin have improved under new management this year, though they will have been very disappointed with their performance against Galway. They lacked the grunt that day that had been apparent in other games. I expect that it will be back today.But I would imagine that losing their Munster title will have a massive impact on Limerick's attitude. It should fuel their hunger even more.It's interesting that the game isn't in a strictly neutral venue, as is normally the case for quarter-finals. Obviously Limerick are taking up the opportunity to play in Croke Park with an eye on an upcoming semi-final.Croke Park is a massive field with wide open areas and Limerick are so good at working the ball short that they will utilise every pocket of space that is available.What I love about Limerick is how they vary their play. How they use the short ball to get to the half-forward line to take a long range score, or how they can bypass the opposition half-back line, with their ability to win 50-50 ball inside.That's why I believe it's a smart call to play at Croke Park - it suits their style of play.For Dublin, Paddy Smyth and John Bellew have been good at the back but it's Chris Crummey that makes them tick.When we were preparing to play Dublin with Antrim, one of the things that stood out was how much ball goes through Crummey out of defence. He's a solid defender but links up so well with the midfielders and forwards.
But a huge aspect of this game is whether Crummey will sit back in the pocket or push forward on Cian Lynch and mark him.The conundrum there is that you can't leave a big space in front of Aaron Gillane no matter how good the defender marking him is but, on the other hand, you can't give a playmaker like Lynch the freedom of the park either.You can hope that a midfielder will drop and pick him up but that's a 50-50 situation; it will only come off some of the time. So Dublin need to pick someone to man-mark him and it's a big call because so much of Limerick's play goes through Lynch.The midfield battle should be interesting. Adam English has brought a lot to Limerick there.I expect Dan Morrissey to pick up the imposing John Hetherton and no better man for the job. Morrissey is an outstanding defender and, if there was a transfer market, he'd be highly sought after.The Dublin forwards will need to work tirelessly to stop Limerick building from the back but, collectively, they'll need to scale new heights just to give themselves a chance here.However, Limerick will likely be in an uncompromising mood after the Munster final and should set up a mouth-watering semi-final with Kilkenny.
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BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: M Smith (England); T Freeman (England), S Tuipulotu (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), D van der Merwe (Scotland); F Smith (England), A Mitchell (England); E Genge (England), L Cowan-Dickie (England), F Bealham (Ireland); M Itoje (England, capt), T Beirne (Ireland), T Curry (England), J Morgan (Wales), B Earl (England). Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland) for Cowan-Dickie, T Williams (Wales) for Mitchell, H Pollock (England) for Morgan (all 49 mins), M Hansen (Ireland) for van der Merwe, E Daly (England) for Aki, T Furlong (Ireland) for Bealham, P Schoeman (Scotland) for Genge (all 59), S Cummings (Scotland) for Itoje (71), Bealham for Furlong (81, HIA). ARGENTINA: S Carreras; R Isgró, L Cinti, J Piccardo, I Mendy; T Albornoz, G Garcíal M Vivas, J Montoya (capt), J Sclavi; F Molina, P Rubiolo; P Matera, J M Gonzalez, J Oviedo. Replacements: S Cordero for Mendy (44 mins), F Coria Marchetti for Sclavi (47), B Wenger for Oviedo (47-56), M Moroni for Cinti (55), S Grondona for Molina (59), J Moro for Moroni (60), Cinti for Oviedo (65), Wenger for Vivas (66), S Benitez Cruz for Garcia (70), B Bernasconi for Montoya (80). Yellow card: Vivas (45-55). Referee: J Doleman (NZR).
