All-Ireland Hurling Final: All pressure on Limerick, not Waterford, say Sky Sports pundits
Sky Sports pundits Jamesie O'Connor, JJ Delaney and Ollie Canning review the All-Ireland Hurling Championship semi-finals, and examine the lie of the land ahead of the decider between Waterford and Limerick
Monday 30 November 2020 16:09, UK
And then there were two. After a dramatic weekend at Croke Park, Waterford and Limerick are the two sides left standing in the race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
The Treaty will enter as favourites, chasing the crown they last won in 2018 when they quenched a 45-year thirst. But the Déise have sights set on ending their own drought, as they bid to celebrate their first All-Ireland title since 1959.
Limerick will have much to improve upon from their display against Galway on Sunday, as their shooting stats were far below their usual high standards.
"The positive is that they had 44 shots on goal. The negative is that they hit 17 wides," said Jamesie O'Connor. "Any day that the wide count gets into double-digits, you're in trouble.
"But credit to them at the back; they never really coughed up a goal-scoring opportunity. Galway needed something to happen - a break, a ball to come off the upright, and it never did.
"It's a good place to be in for Limerick. That said, the pressure remains on them. They will be favourites heading into the final. Waterford are in a great position, a great frame of mind given how well they played last night. And the fact that no one will give them a chance in the final.
"So the pressure will be on Limerick rather than Waterford. That gives them a great chance to come in under the radar. They will have learned from the Munster final. Also, Limerick just dominated the middle third. Particularly on the flanks where (Diarmaid) Byrnes and Kyle Hayes were dominant in the half-back line.
"Byrnes was man of the match, and Gearóid Hegarty had the most possessions of anyone; four points from play on one wing, and Tom Morrissey had a super game, starting and finishing very well on the other wing.
"Waterford will match-up better size-wise - Calum Lyons and Jack Fagan - with the physicality that Limerick have, maybe better than Galway did.
"So there's much to ponder, but what a treat it is.
"I think we have the two best teams in the final, given what we saw this weekend."
We have the two best teams in the final.
Delaney unconcerned about Limerick shooting
JJ Delaney was impressed with the Treaty's ability to dig deep and deliver the victory.
"They ground out the result. They are in the All-Ireland final. That's all that matters to these players," said the Kilkenny native.
"They had the composure [in front of goal] up to this game, but it's something to work on coming up to the All-Ireland final.
"I wouldn't worry about [shooting], the reason being is they are making the chances. A few of those scoring opportunities, you would back them nine times out of 10 to score. They actually missed them there today. So I wouldn't worry about them too much. They are going to have to bring the same intensity they brought in the Munster final.
"To touch on the Waterford win, I'd say they'll get serious confidence out of the second-half. So they won't fear coming up playing Limerick. They will relish it, just to get another crack at them. It's very hard to beat the same team twice in one year, and that's what Limerick are going to have to do in two weeks' time.
"Jamie Barron was out of the game in that Munster final. So if he ups his game to the way he played [against Kilkenny] and against Clare, that's going to be a huge plus for the Waterford team. That's something Limerick are going to have to worry about."
Canning: Waterford won't fear Limerick
Ollie Canning feels the Suir-siders are coming in under the radar.
"Coming off the back of the last couple of seasons, Waterford came into the championship, from an outsider point of view, the expectations wouldn't have been that high," he explained.
"Liam Cahill was a new manager in, people felt it might take a bit of time for him to get to know the players and bed in. But he has done great things with this Waterford team.
"They ran this Limerick team to four points in the Munster final, and on 51 minutes, they were a point up in that match. So Liam Cahill and the Waterford boys, they will be putting plans in place for two weeks' time. And I feel they won't fear Limerick going into this game. They gave them a great rattle in that Munster final, and they will be looking forward to the final in two weeks' time."
Tune into Inside The Game, our weekly GAA discussion show on Sky Sports Mix at 5:30pm Wednesday, as we review the weekend's hurling action and look ahead to the All-Ireland Football Championship semi-finals.
