Big hurling action in Thurles and Portlaoise
May 31, 2013
Four counties are bidding for a place in their provincial semi final as the race for 'Liam McCarty' gathers pace. INPHO
The winners of Carlow v Laois will take on Galway in the Leinster semi-final on June 16. The other Leinster semi-final will be between the winners of Kilkenny v Offaly and Dublin v Wexford.
The winners of Clare v Waterford game will take on Cork in the Munster semi- final on June 23. Limerick and Tipperary meet in the first Munster semi-final on Sunday week.
LAOIS v CARLOW, PORTLAOISE, SUNDAY, 3pm
Both Carlow and Laois have a win behind them in this year's championship with Carlow having beaten London by 4-17 to 2-13 and Laois ousting Antrim on a 1-16 to 0-13 scoreline.
Craig Doyle, who came on as a first half sub, was Carlow's scoring ace against London scoring 3-2 (all from open play) while Marty Kavanagh hit 0-7 as John Meyler's men cruised to a 10-point win. Carlow led by 1-7 to 0-5 at half-time. Zane Keenan (0-5), Stephen Maher (0-4) and Tommy Fitzgerald (1-1) were top scorers for Laois, who led by 1-6 to 0-7 at half-time. Seamus Plunkett's men will now be hoping to build on that win and clinch a semi-final date with Galway.
Laois and Carlow meet for a second successive year in the championship with Laois having won by seven points in a Leinster first round clash last year. Carlow last beat Laois in the championship in 2010 when they won an All-Ireland qualifier tie.
Last Title Wins
Leinster: Carlow: Never won it; Laois 1949
All-Ireland: Carlow: Never won it; Laois 1915
Last Five Championship Clashes
2012: Laois 0-20 Carlow 0-13 (Leinster 1st round)
2010: Laois 1-13 Carlow 0-10 (Leinster 1st round)
2010: Carlow 1-19 Laois 3-12 (All-Ireland qualifiers)
2004: Laois 4-19 Carlow 0-8 (Leinster 1st round)
2003: Laois 5-15 Carlow 1-10 (Leinster 1st round)
Laois 4 Carlow 1
CLARE v WATERFORD, THURLES, SUNDAY, 4pm
They meet for the 30th time in the championship (including All-Ireland qualifiers) with Clare leading 16-10 while there were four draws in their previous 30 encounters. Their last meeting was in the 2012 championship when Waterford won the Munster semi-final by two points.
A crowd of 12,296 enjoyed a great contest where Maurice Shanahan scored 0- 7 for Waterford while John Conlon (1-2) and Nicky O'Connell (0-5) were Clare's top scorers.
Both Davy Fitzgerald (Clare) and Michael Ryan (Waterford) are in their second seasons in charge of their counties with Fitzgerald still seeking his first provincial win. However, he did enjoy considerable provincial success with Waterford over previous seasons. Clare and Waterford clashed in the first round of the Allianz Hurling League on 24 February last with Waterford winning by 2-15 to 1-17. Jake Dillon (1-5) and
Brian O'Halloran (0-4) were top scorers for Waterford while Colin Ryan (0-10) and Tony Kelly (1-3) were Clare's top scorers.
The winners will play Cork in the Munster semi-final on June 23.
Last Title wins
Munster: Clare 1998; All-Ireland: 1997
Waterford: Munster 2010; All-Ireland: 1959
Last Five Championship Clashes
2012: Waterford 2-17 Clare 1-18 (Munster semi-final)
2010: Waterford 0-22 Clare 1-15 (2010 Munster semi-final)
2008: Clare 2-26 Waterford 0-23 (Munster quarter-final)
2005: Clare 4-14 Waterford 0-21 (All-Ireland qualifier)
2004: Waterford 3-21 Clare 1-8 (Munster 1st round)
Waterford 3; Clare 2 Tweet
