After defeat to Tipperary last time out it’s vital Dublin take something from this weekend’s championship clash with Kilkenny
The Dublin team to start tomorrow’s championship clash with Kilkenny in Parnell Park at 2pm has been announced.
There is just one change to the Dublin starting fifteen which began the opening round game against Tipperary two weeks ago with Ciara Tierney replacing Éabha Mooney in goal.
Dublin had a poor day at the office in their championship clash against Tipperary with the game all but over by half-time with the home side leading by thirteen points and eventually running out comfortable winners by 2-19 to 1-06.
The Dublin cause wasn’t helped with two players picking up what looked like serious injuries, Zoe Couch picked up a head injury just on the stroke of half-time and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance, thankfully it wasn’t as serious as first feared and Couch has recovered and is named in her customary fullback position for tomorrow’s game.
Issy Davis doesn’t appear to have been so lucky, nine minutes after her second half introduction Davis went down with what looked like a serious knee injury, the Kilmacud Crokes player had just returned to the panel after a year out with an ACL injury to the same knee and unfortunately it looks likely it’s a recurrence of the same injury.
After a good run in the Leinster championship which seen Dublin reach the provincial final, running tomorrow’s opponents Kilkenny right to the wire in the decider with a pressing game from the front, Dublin strangely reverted back to a more containing system against Tipperary.
It left a single forward isolated upfront the majority of the time and when Dublin overturned the ball in defence, the players were left with no options for an out ball and were reduced to hoofing the ball forward which the Tipp defence gladly scooped up and launched attack after attack.
Why the Dublin management reverted back to the containment tactics and team set-up they used to no effect during a winless league campaign was surprising and hopefully it’s lesson learned for tomorrow’s encounter and they return the team to the more aggressive front pressing game that transformed the team during the Leinster campaign.
The action gets underway tomorrow afternoon in Parnell Park at 2pm and we will have LIVE UPDATES of all the action from throw-in over on our Twitter feed @wearedub
Dublin: 1. Ciara Tierney (Na Fianna), 2. Abby Ryan (Crumlin), 3, Orla Gray (Na Fianna), 4. Zoe Couch (St Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh), 5. Claire Gannon (Naomh Jude), 6 . Eve O’Brien (Na Fianna), 7. Hannah O’Dea (Cuala), 8. Muireann Kelliher (St Vincents), 9. Gaby Couch (St Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh), 10. Leah Butler (Naomh Jude), 11. Elyse Jamieson Murphy (Na Fianna), 12. Ashling Gannon (Naomh Jude), 13. Grace O’Shea (Ballinteer St Johns), 14. Ashling O’Neill (Castleknock), 15. Aisling Maher (St Vincents).
Dublin Substitutes: 16. Éabha Mooney (Castleknock), 17. Christine Shanahan (Naomh Olafs), 18. Ellen Baker (Castleknock), 19. Aoife Heffernan (Naomh Peregrines), 20. Juliette O’Flynn (Cuala), 21. Sinead Murphy (Cuala), 22. Jennifer Moore (Good Counsel Liffey Gaels), 23. Niamh Heffernan (Naomh Peregrines), 24. Niamh Comerford (Kilmacud Crokes), 25. Mari Moynihan (Lucan Sarsfields), 26. Jody Couch (St Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh), 27. Lauran Robinson (Raheny), 28. Amy Burke (Ballinteer St John’s).
