Team captain Burke is taking nothing for granted

STEPHEN GLENNON

GALWAY U-21 captain David Burke is ready to put the recent agonising All-Ireland senior quarter-final defeat to Tipperary behind him when he faces Leinster champions Dublin in the penultimate stages of the U-21 hurling championship in Tullamore this Saturday.Indeed, the St. Thomas’ clubman is only itching for the opportunity to take the field again in the maroon and white jersey and he believes that the U-21 squad of 2010 is even stronger than last year’s side which lost that pulsating All-Ireland semi-final to Clare on a scoreline of 3-23 to 5-15.

With NUI Galway winning the Fitzgibbon Cup earlier this year and the Galway minors contesting All-Irelands in ’08 and ’09 – winning the latter – Burke says there is plenty of quality in this U-21 side. “Most definitely. Last year, the minors had a great win over Kilkenny while the year before they were just pipped for the title (by the Cats).

“Paul (Gordon), Barry (Daly), Gerry (Kelly) and Declan (Connolly, U-21 vice captain), were all part of the Fitzgibbon Cup win and it is great to see them coming back to that form again at just the right time,” says midfielder Burke, who has another year at this grade.

“I think we might have been an under-strength team when we played Clare last year and that, maybe, was why we were relying on the one man (Joe Canning). This year, though, I think we are a bit more balanced, with six fairly good forwards. We are not relying on just the one man. It has also meant that there is plenty of competition for places, and you can see that in the training sessions where lads are going at it hell for leather.”

Yet, Burke is ultra cautious about the challenge they face in Tullamore this Saturday. With a provincial championship behind them, in which they accounted for Kilkenny and Wexford, Dublin would appear to have the momentum going into this tie, according to the Galway captain.

“Dublin have had the perfect preparation, where we are coming in with no game and we wouldn’t be sure, maybe, of the best 15 going out. Sometimes, it (the current system) works in your favour and then there are other days when you can get caught on the hop.

“So, Dublin have had the perfect run-in, with a good game against Kilkenny and a Leinster final win over Wexford. In contrast, we have had a few challenge matches, which have been good, but they are by no means better than championship games.”

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.