By Kevin Regan
We Will Have Full Live Commentary Of The Game On Our Carlow Frequency Sunday At 2pm With Thanks To Affidea
Okay so the shackles are off and St Mullins have finally got the monkey off their back in Leinster.
We spoke about how badly they needed to win against Raharney in Westmeath after failing to win in Leinster two years previous to that and the Saints came up trumps on the day to win by 2-14 to 1-11.
Truth be told the longer that game went on the more St Mullins were going to win by.
There was much to admire about that victory two weeks ago in Mullingar. The Discipline that PJ Delaney’s side showed throughout was tremendous.
The work rate was even better, touch and striking was crisp and they took their chances when they were presented.
On Sunday they take on a different animal in Dublin side Cuala.
The side from the Dalkey area pretty much dismantled Borris In Ossory Kilcotten last time out with Dublin Senior Football Panelist Con O’Callaghan scoring 4-3.
In fact their forward line is very potent with David and Sean Treacy, Colm Cronin and Mark Schutte all having represented Dublin at different stages.
Add in Midfielder Darragh O’Connell and defenders Paul Schutte, Oisin Gough and Cian O’Callaghan and the quality within their squad is clear for all to see.
So what have St Mullins got in their favour you might ask? The answer is plentiful.
- First of all they have home advantage. This is a massive help. Cuala actually visited Netwatch Cullen Park last year where they were beaten by Oulart The Ballagh in the Leinster Final, but the venue should be worth a couple of points to St Mullins.
- Like the last two games, The boys in Green are underdogs and this Sunday they are 9/2 with the Bookies. So far they have thrived under the underdogs tag and this actually allows them to hurl with a freedom of expression which has stood them in good stead so far.
It’s easy to pick out Marty Kavanagh, James Doyle, Paudie Kehoe, Seamus Murphy, Ger Coady and Jack Kavanagh every time St Mullins play and these lads are all top class hurlers.
However there are many unsung hero’s within their ranks. Michael Walsh gets through a power of work every day he goes out, as does his brother John and the two John Murphy’s.
Other’s who aren’t in the limelight are John Doran, Paul Doyle, Gary Bennett, Darren Whelan and Kevin Kehoe, but these lads have scarcely put a foot wrong all season.
People will talk about the Cuala forward line til the cows come home just like I have above, but have you seen a St Mullins player being completely taken to the cleaners yet? I certainly haven’t.
This is largely down to two things. Number 1 is Belief and Number 2 is organisation.
There is an air of confidence about St Mullins at the moment and an organisation which has seen very few teams break them down this year so far.
The Kilkenny imprint of PJ Delaney and Jimmy Dunne is embodied all over the squad and I certainly think that they will take a bit of beating despite all the so called superstars that people think Cuala have got.
One thing for sure is that St Mullins will not be overwhelmed by ego’s, occasion’s or reputations and I think they might take this big Dublin scalp come Sunday.
Verdict: St Mullins
