Kilkenny braced for Allianz League relegation playoff

Not much has gone the way of Kilkenny in the 2015 Allianz Hurling League. Three straight defeats on the back of their opening victory means they have already surrendered any chance of winning a fourth consecutive title, although they will have home advantage for the Division 1A relegation playoff – provided it’s Dublin they end up facing, and not Clare.

That’s one of the last uncertainties going into Sunday’s final round of games of division 1A, before it becomes a knock-out. Cork, Tipperary and Galway are already destined for the quarter-finals, no matter what happens, and Kilkenny, likewise, are destined for that relegation play-off.

Their opponents will depend on whether or not Dublin beat Galway, and Kilkenny themselves beat Clare.

For Dublin – who are actually level on Galway with four points – a win or a draw will be enough to see them through. Galway are already through on the head-to-head rule, given they’ve beaten both Clare and Kilkenny.

If Dublin lose, and Clare beat Kilkenny, it’s a Dublin-Kilkenny relegation play-off. Given Kilkenny only had two regular homes games this season, while Dublin had three, Kilkenny will therefore be at home for that game – which will be played on Sunday week, and the losers are automatically relegated to division 1B for 2016. If Kilkenny lose to Clare, however, and Dublin win, it’s a Kilkenny-Clare relegation playoff, and in that case home advantage will be decided on a coin toss – given both teams only had two regular home games this season.

Dublin’s fate, in other words, is entirely in their own hands, a somewhat surprising scenario given they set the early pace in the division – beating Tipperary and Kilkenny, before losing heavily to Cork, and then going down by two points to Clare in Ennis last Saturday.

“We’ve four games played, won two, and are still in control of what we can do,” admitted Dublin manager Ger Cunningham. “If we get a win, we’re into the quarter-finals, and that’s still the aim. So the Galway game is crucial now, back in Parnell Park, and hopefully our supporters will come out.”

Cunningham is still fretting over the fitness of defender Michael Carton, who went over on his ankle just before half-time in the Clare match last Sunday, while making a crucial goal-line block from a blistering shot from Tony Kelly.

Carton’s absence was definitely felt in the second half, and he will be a major loss for Sunday’s game at Parnell if he doesn’t recover in time.

Little uncertainty

There’s even less uncertainty going into the final round of games in division 1B, as all four quarter-finalists are already decided (Waterford, Wexford, Limerick and Offaly) and so too is the relegation play-off (Antrim against Laois).

Perhaps the most important prize of all, however, is still up for grabs, as Waterford will play Wexford in the game that decides who is promoted to division 1A for 2016. Waterford (on seven points) only need a draw, although Wexford (on six points) will have home advantage.

Both teams come into this game in flying form – Waterford putting up 4-30 against Antrim last weekend, while Wexford hit Laois with 5-22.

“We actually have two massive weeks ahead of us,” confirmed Waterford manager Derek McGrath. “We have the game against Wexford, and we have a massive game the following week in terms of a league quarter-final. The implications of winning a league quarter-final, in terms of the board and the financial implications of getting to a semi-final of the national league have to be looked at too. So we’re under no illusions about what we have to do next Sunday.”

The quarter-final pairings will then be played as follows: 1st 1A against 4th 1B; 2nd 1A against 3rd 1B; 3rd 1A against 2nd 1B; 4th 1A against 1st 1B: those games will be also played on next Sunday week, on a similar home-away basis, again decided on whether a team has already had two or three home games, as in the relegation play-off scenario.

‘Embarrassing for ourselves’

Meanwhile, it’s now likely that at least some of the Ballyhale Shamrocks players will rejoin the Kilkenny panel ahead of that relegation playoff on Sunday week. Team captain TJ Reid, speaking in the aftermath of Tuesday’s sixth All-Ireland club hurling title win in Croke Park, indicated that he was perfectly willing to come back on board in time for that game, admitting as well that it would be “embarrassing for ourselves” if Kilkenny ended up playing division 1B hurling in 2016.

New Kilkenny captain Joey Holden is also poised to return sooner rather than later, as is Colin Fennelly and brother Michael, although there’s still no word on Henry Shefflin’s intentions – his decision to play on or not likely to come after the weekend.

What has already been decided is that Ballyhale Shamrocks joint managers Colm Bonnar and Andy Moloney will continue in their positions through the next championship season. The Tipperary duo, who took over at the club at the start of 2014, have committed to another campaign, and also expect the entire 2015 panel – including Shefflin – to play on as well.