Shamrocks can hit a double figure win, even on away turf
Barring any draws this weekend, the last hurling action of 2009 will take place on Sunday afternoon, with the Leinster and Munster club finals both down for decision. The Munster decider takes place in the familiar surroundings of Semple Stadium, with Newtownshandrum having had the better form so far and also the experience of playing in Tom Semple’s field against Thurles Sarsfields already in this campaign. Right now, they probably represent very fair 2/7 shots.
Ballygunner are a very solid all round club and this writer certainly can’t remember the last time that the Gunners would have been 11/4 to win a championship hurling match, however that is the case with the odds makers this week, and despite the Waterford men having unearthed several good young players this year, the bookies’ assessment of this decider seems spot on.
The bookmakers seem a little bit more off the mark in Leinster however, where 6/5 about Ballyhale Shamrocks minus nine points represents excellent value, and should be taken now with a 2pt stake before the window of opportunity closes. Tullamore’s incredible progress this season has been a shock to everyone, and the decision to move this game to O’Connor Park on Sunday further plays into their hands. Looking at this from another viewpoint though, the question could be asked, why were Ballyhale so agreeable when the match was moved to their opponents’ home turf?
The only answer that stands up to scrutiny here is that Ballyhale would like some measure of a test before the season draws to a close, and they know that they need to give Tullamore every possible helping hand in order to make this happen. They, and indeed anyone who has seen both clubs hurl this season, knows that an upset here is simply not plausible. There are several mismatches that are too severe for Tullamore to be able to compensate elsewhere on the park. The town have some very useful young hurlers, and are likely to improve in the coming years, particularly with this year’s experience behind them. Shane Dooley’s scoring and the energy of their midfield pairing will possibly discommode the Leinster champions to a certain degree, but under the Ballyhale puckout, they really don’t appear to have the answer to players like TJ Reid and of course Henry Shefflin. Closer to goal, players like Cillian Bane and Stephen Egan have been outstanding, but they haven’t met anything like the type of challenge that Sunday presents.
The current weather conditions were no doubt factored in when this handicap was put up, but right now the worst of the weather seems to be behind us in the midlands, and the forecast is for a cold but relatively dry spell towards the end of the week. This suggests that the playing conditions on Sunday afternoon could be quite benign. Covering a high handicap in sloppy, mucky conditions would be a huge ask, but with the ground likely to dry up enough to facilitate good winter hurling if not summer conditions, then once again the likelihood is that Ballyhale will raise at least twenty flags in this match.
Money buyers out there, and there are plenty of them, could look at the 1/12 about Ballyhale and chances are their wager wouldn’t come under too much pressure, but for the more traditional bettor, the 6/5 about a double figure victory is an excellent price. Tullamore aren’t a free scoring team, and in order to stay within this range, they would have to keep Ballyhale to one goal or less, and that just doesn’t look likely, no matter where this game is held.
Tags: Ballyhale Shamrocks, Tullamore
Categories: Hurling
Related Posts:
Comments (0)