Redemption or condemnation?
Dublin manager Ger Cunningham will be treading that fine line ahead of this Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling quarter-final with Waterford in Thurles.
The Dubs have mixed the good with the atrocious in this year’s championship, as they search for that the consistency that has eluded this group of players over the last half decade.
Brilliant some days and maddeningly woeful when expected to deliver, the capital’s hurlers record in the knock out phase of the All-Ireland series has seen some wonderful performances mixed with below-par displays.
We’ve decided to take a look back at some of the good, and bad days, the county have endured over the last five seasons or so.
No. 5 Antrim 1-17 Dublin 0-19 – All-Ireland qualifier 2010
Lets get one of the darkest days in recent Dublin hurling history out of the way first.
Anthony Daly’s side took a huge beating in the Leinster semi-final against Kilkenny, slumping to a 4-19 to 0-12 loss to a Brian Cody side on the ‘Drive for Five.
However they regrouped and came back to beat Daly’s native Clare in Croke Park in their first qualifier, on a day when Alan McCrabbe and Dotsy O’Callaghan scored 0-14 between them.
The signs looked promising as Daly secured a famous win over a top-tier county and with Antrim up next.
The natural expectation was that Dublin suffered an off day against Kilkenny at the zenith of their powers.
However the wheels came off in spectacular fashion as the Ulster side left Anthony Daly questioning his future with a 1-17 to 0-19 loss in Croke Park.
The loss was all the most dispiriting for the county coming as it did just days after an historic Leinster U21 title.
Daly told reporters afterwards,
“If my message isn’t getting through, then you’d have to reconsider. You take a few steps forward, but then you get a belt like today and it’s a few steps back.”
However better days were to come.
No.4 Dublin 1-17 Limerick 1-16 – All-Ireland qualifier 2015
The most recent entry on our list but the game served as reminder that the county has top class hurlers and no lack of spirit.
Dublin so often in the past have lost close games and come out the wrong end of narrow defeats.
However a one man tour de force from Paul Ryan ensured that the 2013 Munster champions had no answer for Ger Cunningham’s side.
The game was an almost typical Dublin match where they looked dead and buried, staged a comeback and looked set to lose the game once again until Dotsy got the game-winning goal eight minutes from time.
No.3 Dublin 3-13 Limerick 0-18 – All-Ireland quarter-final 2011
The second of wins over Limerick on the list, but of much more long term significance was this historic result over the Munster outfit.
Ryan O’Dwyer’s best ever performance for Dublin as he grabbed 3-2 on a night when Anthony Daly’s side took another major scalp.
The performance was all the more remarkable considering it was achieved in the absence of Conal Keaney who just weeks earlier had been injured in an horrific motorcycle accident.
Dublin married their defensive work with a savage intensity that got them over the line and propelled them to Croke Park and All-Ireland semi final for the first time in several generations
The win was sweet justice for the loss in 2009 to Limerick at the same stage, but with the Allianz Division One league success under their belt, the performance made for a truly special night in Thurles.
No.2 Tipperary 1-19 Dublin 0-18 – All Ireland semi-final 2011
The champions against the challengers.
After the disappointment of 2010, Anthony Daly’s side were transformed just 12 months later.
Even the small crowd reflected the belief that Tipperary would prove too strong for the city outfit but the 43,000 plus spectators were treated to one of the best games of the last decade.
Dublin’s defensive strategy worked perfectly as the now often copied sweeper system forced Tipperary to shoot from distance as well as choking up supply to a Lar Corbett at the height of his powers.
The fact of being the first last four All-Ireland encounter since 1948 eventually told on the bodies and minds of Dublin, and perhaps the win over Limerick had darined them more than they imagioned, but the county had very much arrived as a top tier county and were there for the long haul.
The future looked bright and a new challenger to the established order of Kilkenny and Tipperary has announced themselves on the biggest stage of all.
No.1 Dublin 1-19 Cork 1-24 – All-Ireland semi-final 2013
The greatest ‘what if’ in Dublin hurling history.
Ryan O’Dwyers controversial red card midway through the clash with Cork was the ultimate game changer.
Cork were thankful at the time, but ultimately perhaps it was Clare who benefited most as they avoided the hype that would have come with having to try and deny their two-time All-Ireland winning captain in a September showpiece.
Dublin came in straight to the last four from an historic Leinster title success over Galway, taking on a Cork side who were looking to make a first All-Ireland since 2006.
The game had it all and is rated as the most compete performance from a Dublin side under Daly.
Level 15 times over the 70 minutes, and 18 different scorers during the match, the encounter ebbed and flowed until the Tipperary native’s second yellow card after half-time scuppered Dublin’s defensive discipline.
The extra space allowed Pa Horgan grab a crucial goal and Dublin suffered a second All-Ireland semi final defeat in just three years.
Daly afterwards described it as worse than the loss to Tipperary and few would argue.
Cork were there to be beaten but Dublin has stumbled with the finishing line in sight.
