LEINSTER SH ‘A’ SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW
North prepare to face impressive Kilkenny outfit
Daire Walsh
A SPOT in the Leinster Senior Hurling ‘A’ Championship decider will be up for grabs on Saturday, when Dublin North lock horns with Kilkenny CBS in an eagerly-anticipated encounter.
A round two victory over Borris VS of Carlow on January 10 helped the Metropolitan outfit to reach the semi-final of the competition for the second time in three seasons. They were ultimately defeated by St Kieran’s College in 2016, and will hope for greater fortune against their Marble County rivals.
They also faced CBS in last year’s quarter-final, which ended in a seven-point reversal (1-19 to 1-12) for the boys in blue. While North’s squad has changed significantly since that meeting, the likes of Dublin county minors of last year Lee Gannon and Micheal Murphy will bring valuable experience to the table.
Murphy was the side’s scorer-in-chief during their recent success at the expense of Borris, finishing with an excellent personal tally of 1-8. The Ardscoil Ris marksman has been ably-assisted by Gannon and Billy Ryan in the campaign to date, while Andrew Dunphy and Kevin Burke provide a powerful defensive spine.
They will have their work cut out against a Kilkenny CBS side that got the better of Castlecomer CS in the last-eight. But with momentum behind them, Paul O’Brien’s charges will embark on this contest in a confident mood.