Tomorrow afternoon is the pinnacle day in the Dublin Senior Hurling Championship as current holders Cuala go head to head with Kilmacud Crokes in the Dublin SHC Final in Parnell Park at 3pm.
These two great south side rivals know each other very well and there is never too much between the sides on any given day, as was witnessed in their last meeting back in April when a Mark Shutte goal with the last puck of the game earned Cuala a draw.
Kilmacud Crokes have been impressive on their way to the final racking up big scores against Craobh Chiarain, Naomh Olaf and O’Tooles.
For defending champions Cuala it’s been a case of digging deep for results particularly in the semi-final against Lucan Sarsfields.
Cuala’s David Treacy admits that his team “haven’t set the world alight” this season. He has plenty of praise though for his defensive teammates and hails them as the reason they have reached the final again.
“Our backs have been an extremely tight unit and they’ve got us through a couple of matches,” he told The Herald.
David believes one of the reasons for his team not being as free scoring as they were in last years championship is the difficulty in replicating what they did last year.
“We haven’t been as free scoring as last year. But then, when you’re playing as champions, it’s never easy to replicate. We came in, not under the radar last year, but in some respects the surprise package. This year our card is marked. Everyone is aware of what we have and it’s been more difficult.”
Treacy says though that they are just concentrating on themselves and the important thing is they have been grinding out result and are exactly where they wanted to be, the Championship Final.
David is well aware of the difficult task that faces his team tomorrow if they are to retain their title and he warns that Kilmacud Crokes are the team with form heading into tomorrow’s game.
“Crokes have really been the form team, they should have beaten us in the group stage, Mark Shutte got us out of Jail.”
That maybe true but tomorrow’s game is a championship final and they can sometimes take on a life all of their own where form is thrown out the window.
So will it be Cuala who retain their title or will Kilmacud Crokes who lift their third title in five years, well with clashes between these sides normally very close, it’s too tight to call. But one thing is for sure it should be a cracking game and one not to be missed.
