Top managers happy to give floodlit matches a go

ALLIANZ NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE:THREE LEADING managers have given tentative approval to floodlit fixtures in the coming National Hurling League.

Two high-profile fixtures are scheduled in the coming weeks, including the opening game in Thurles on Saturday week – the rematch of the All-Ireland final between Tipperary and champions Kilkenny.

“Obviously it’s a development the GAA feel they need to look at,” said Kilkenny manager Brian Cody, speaking at the formal league launch in Dublin yesterday. “I have no experience with being involved with a floodlit match, at all. But I would be positive about it, and the GAA obviously feel it is a runner. The lights in Thurles are obviously top of the range, and I’m looking forward to it.

“I’ll be in a better position to comment after, but I presume it will be straightforward, and if it works out, we can look at the potential for increasing the number of games under lights.”

Cork will face Limerick under lights in round two of the league, on February 27th – and Cork manager Denis Walsh, having played under lights for his club, is already a big fan: “I think they’re a great idea, to be honest,” he said. “I know in my own club, St Catherine’s, we’ve had a floodlight system put in the last few years, one of the first to have it, and we’re well used to it, it’s not a bother. But there’s no point in having floodlights if the pitch isn’t good. That’s a disaster. Thurles is a good pitch, and I think it is the way to go, in essence, even at club level: more mid-week matches, double-headers and stuff like that.

“The other crucial thing is it has to be dark. Some people make the mistake of starting the match at 7.30, when it’s only getting dark, and the lights are no good.”

Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy got to experience floodlights last year when his team played a weakened Cork in the second round of the league, yet admitted he was still unsure about the full merits of it.

Tipperary will benefit from a warm-up for Saturday week when they play Dublin in a challenge under lights this Saturday, at St Brigid’s in Russell Park – although it will be a mostly alternative Dublin team, as most of the first-choice players are named for Sunday’s Walsh Cup final against Galway in Parnell Park.

“We’ve only ever played the one game under lights, so it’s really hard to judge,” said Sheedy. “It is a little bit different, but we’d need to have more than one game before saying whether or not it really works.”

That Walsh Cup final is the only competitive match this weekend ahead of the start of the league, but it promises to be a fiery one.

Dublin manager Anthony Daly has made just one change from the semi-final win over Wexford, with Gary Maguire selected in goals, taking over from Alan Nolan.

The team to play Tipperary on Saturday is still strong, with several players who lined out with their colleges in the Walsh Cup making their first appearance of the year for the county, including Tomás Brady, Oisín Gough, Joey Boland, Peter Kelly, Liam Rushe, David O’Callaghan, David Treacy and Paul Ryan.

Galway manager John McIntyre has also named his team, and it features, among the substitutes, former captain David Collins, who missed the last two years after breaking an ankle back in the autumn of 2007.

However, McIntyre has also confirmed that two seasoned players, Richie Murray and Andy Coen, have withdrawn from the squad, as they were not in a position to meet the commitment required due to work and other factors.

DUBLIN (SH v Galway): Gary Maguire; Seán O’Sullivan, Niall Corcoran, Ruairí Trainor; Stephen Hiney, Ronan Fallon, Maurice O’Brien; Johnny McCaffrey, Simon Lambert; David Curtin, Shane Ryan, John Kelly; Peadar Carton, Kevin Flynn, Alan McCrabbe.

DUBLIN (SH v Tipperary): Finn McGarry; Tomás Brady, Colm Hennebry, Oisín Gough; Dave Byrne, Michael Carton, Derek O’Reilly; Michael May, Joseph Boland; Peter Kelly, Liam Rushe, Shane Durkin; David O’Callaghan, David Treacy, Paul Ryan.

GALWAY (SH v Dublin): C Callanan; D Joyce, S Kavanagh, P Holland; D Barry, T Og Regan, K Hynes; G Farragher, N Cahalan; A Callanan, C Donnellan, D Burke; A Harte, J Gantley, N Hayes.