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Post by Mickmack on May 25, 2018 21:27:57 GMT
Jackie is some man to set the scene in fairness!
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Post by clarinman on May 25, 2018 22:39:45 GMT
LIVE ON RTE2 ON SUNDAY TIPPERARY V CORK - 2PM - GALWAY V KILKENNY 4PM Kilkenny have to make the journey to Saltill. Cork have the chance to end Tipps season as you are unlikely to make the top 3 in Munster if you lose two games Not sure I'd agree. Munster is so copetitive, it's hard to see 3 teams winning 3 or more games. You might see 2 teams tied for third on 4 points.
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Post by glengael on May 26, 2018 9:31:48 GMT
Kilkenny v Galway in Salthill will be some game I think.
Tipp are in do or die land now and wouldn't Cork love to push them over the edge....
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Post by Mickmack on May 26, 2018 9:36:07 GMT
That could come to pass clarinman. However Tipp wont be playing in the final round as they will have played their four matches by then. Their fate will be out of their hands.
Its a weakness in the format but it it cant be avoided in a group of five.
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Post by kerrygold on May 27, 2018 14:36:20 GMT
Tipp v Cork could be a thunderous affair with Tipp needing the win.............maybe even a summer epic. Some epic in Thurles, great stuff to watch............!
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Post by Mickmack on May 27, 2018 14:46:08 GMT
Cork started playing 2pm. Tipp started at 2.15pm. By then Cork were 7 points up.
Loughnane wrote Tipp off at halftime but they were brilliant in that wonderful second half. Cork like it when its a loose open game. When it got tight Cork went out of the game.
The skill level is amazing at this level.
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Post by veteran on May 27, 2018 18:24:44 GMT
The Thurles match was open, full of flair and skill. In contrast the Galwy match was claustrophobic until the last ten minutes or so when Galway finally pulled away. Few teams do claustrophobia better than Kilkenny but today, unusually for them, they wilted eventually against Galway's physical power.
For such an acclaimed hurler , TJ can very often look cumbersome and ponderous.
Hurling is becoming as difficult to referee as football. A lot of tackles, if they could be called that, could have been deemed a foul rather than let go in Galway today.
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Post by Mickmack on May 27, 2018 21:33:26 GMT
it looks like Galway will win the Leinster title.
Accordingly, I really hope Tipp win the Munster title this year so that Tipp and Galway are kept apart in the semi finals.
The semi finals between them in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were classics with only one point separating them.
A final between them would be brilliant.
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peanuts
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Posts: 1,857
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Post by peanuts on May 27, 2018 22:15:33 GMT
it looks like Galway will win the Leinster title. Accordingly, I really hope Tipp win the Munster title this year so that Tipp and Galway are kept apart in the semi finals. The semi finals between them in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were classics with only one point separating them. A final between them would be brilliant. How is the Munster championship decided this year. Final between top 2 in the round robin?
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Post by Mickmack on May 27, 2018 22:37:57 GMT
Yes. Final between the top 2.
The 3rd placed Leinster team and the losing Leinster finalist (probably Kk and Wexford) will be in the QF along with the losing Munster finalist and the 3rd placed Munster team.
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Post by clarinman on May 27, 2018 23:18:49 GMT
Yes. Final between the top 2. The 3rd placed Leinster team and the losing Leinster finalist (probably Kk and Wexford) will be in the QF along with the losing Munster finalist and the 3rd placed Munster team. The third placed teams in Leinster and Munster will play the top two teams in the McDonagh cup. The winners of those 2 fixtures will progress to the QF.
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Post by kerrygold on May 28, 2018 8:14:42 GMT
Galway look decent and ready to push on again in this years championship.
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on May 28, 2018 10:43:03 GMT
The Thurles match was open, full of flair and skill. In contrast the Galwy match was claustrophobic until the last ten minutes or so when Galway finally pulled away. Few teams do claustrophobia better than Kilkenny but today, unusually for them, they wilted eventually against Galway's physical power. For such an acclaimed hurler , TJ can very often look cumbersome and ponderous. Hurling is becoming as difficult to referee as football. A lot of tackles, if they could be called that, could have been deemed a foul rather than let go in Galway today. The amount of illegal handpasses in every game now is crazy as well.
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Post by glengael on May 30, 2018 11:16:21 GMT
Waterford's absentee list looks chronic.
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on May 30, 2018 11:18:24 GMT
Waterford's absentee list looks chronic. Added to the fact they've no home advantage which is turnng out to be very important it's hard to see them progressing this year.
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 2, 2018 19:33:35 GMT
Jackie Tyrrell: Tipperary have shown themselves to be serious contenders All that needed to happen was for Mick Ryan's team to be shaken into action Fri, Jun 1, 2018, 06:30 Jackie Tyrrell
A season can change in a half-time break. It’s happened before and it will happen again. I don’t know what was said in the Tipperary dressingroom on Sunday but the response the players came out with makes it look they have possibly pulled themselves back from the brink.
They went in trailing by nine points and came out like men possessed. If we’re still talking about them at the end of August, it will be because of half-time last Sunday.
I often smile when I see managers asked: “What did you say to them at half-time?” The answer is usually boring enough. Most of the time, the half-time break is calm, focused, nothing out of the ordinary. Players are taking on fluids, physios are doing a bit here and there. A few lads are saying their piece but it’s hardly ever a case of paint being stripped off the wall. Only in exceptional circumstances.
For example, I’ll never forget half-time in the Limerick game in 2012. We had been beaten out the gate by Galway in the Leinster final and we had the All-Ireland quarter-final against Limerick three weeks later. We were flat in the first half and only for two goals from Henry Shefflin, we’d have been in real trouble. As it was, we went in a point ahead but Limerick were bang in the game. They knew it and we knew it.
We went into the dressingroom and the players started getting into it. Management always came in a few minutes after the players, giving everyone time to settle. Richie Hogan was standing up making a point when Brian Cody came walking in with his eyes on fire. He didn’t even say anything to Richie – he just gave him a look and Richie stopped talking immediately and sat down.
And then he went for it. Basically he told every one of us that this was our only chance, here and now, to save our year. That we had to go out and play with pure abandon, that we had to realise what was about to slip away from us. It wasn’t the winning of the All-Ireland but it was the point at which our season turned around. Something definitely changed for us during that half-time.
Tipperary got to half-time against Cork having played 175 minutes of very poor hurling in a row. The league final, the Limerick game and now the first half against Cork. They looked a shambles. No leadership, no direction, no conviction. No particular pattern of play. Muddled on their own puck-outs, outwitted on the Cork ones. For anyone watching on, they looked like they were at the point of no return.
They changed a couple of players positionally – Brendan Maher to wing-back, Ronan Maher to midfield – and that was important, up to a point. But I think if you look back on that second half, the major change was their intent. They came out with conviction, a mentality that said: “We are not letting our season die here.”
Pádraic Maher made a monster catch from a puck-out and everything went from there. Noel McGrath and John McGrath took over in the attack. People often talk about grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck without actually defining what it looks like. Those three personified it – winning primary possession, demanding the ball, whipping over scores and involving the crowd when the ball goes over. That’s how you change the momentum of a game.
The barrel The age profile of this Tipperary team wouldn’t be all that different to where we were in 2012. A few of them have plenty of miles on the clock. They’ve won All-Irelands. They know what it takes. They know that if they’re at the pitch of any game, they have the winning of it. But knowing it isn’t enough – you have to live it, live up to it. And sometimes you need someone or something to shake you into life.
I was 30 in 2012. A few more of the lads were around the same age – Tommy Walsh was 29, JJ Delaney was 30, Eoin Larkin was 28. Henry was in his last season. We had a lot of games played and a lot of experience behind us. In a weird way, maybe that fed into our first-half performance against Limerick that day.
We knew what we were capable of and we had spent three weeks telling ourselves that we were preparing properly and giving it everything. We thought we had got over Galway. We had worked hard and trained well and maybe we just got there on the day and waited for it all to come out. Brian could see it in us, that we were leaving it to each other to come up with something – waiting on Henry, waiting on Tommy, waiting on Richie Power. We had to be rattled out of that mindset.
Brendan Maher: his switch to wing-back at the interval helped improve Tipperary and he turned over two balls early in the second half to signal their fresh intent. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Brendan Maher: his switch to wing-back at the interval helped improve Tipperary and he turned over two balls early in the second half to signal their fresh intent. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho It’s the difference between talking about scenarios and being in them. Obviously we knew going into the game that the line between being in the championship and being gone was a fine one. But it was only staring down the barrel that really brought it home. This is it, lads – 35 minutes and it’s over.
Something overtakes you when that realisation hits you between the eyes. Christ, what will I do if this is over? It could be gone already for all I know. That’s it, I don’t care anymore about tactics or any of that. I’m going out and winning the ball and getting us back into the game here. That’s what people mean when they talk about throwing off the shackles – it’s nearly activating a need in yourself to be in the game, to eat up the opportunity that’s in front of you rather than being caged in by the situation.
To my eyes, that’s what changed in the Tipperary players on Sunday. They had that realisation that this was so, so real now. They were a game and a half into the Munster championship and they hadn’t done a single thing. And in fact, some of the things they had done were reckless, showing a lack of clarity in their thinking. That’s an obvious sign that you’re not in the right headspace, that you haven’t properly grasped the trouble you’re in.
I’d rate Mickey Cahill as one of the top five corner backs in the country. He’s a sticky marker, an intelligent hurler and he’s experienced on top of it all. But he had been given a bit of a roasting in the first half, which can happen to anyone. My read on it would be that it all fed into him making a rash decision at the end of the first half that led to the Cork goal.
When Shane Kingston was bearing down on goal, Cahill was covering across and was in a perfect position to shut him down. He had two covering defenders behind him so all he had to do was a bit of basic defending – stand Kingston up, delay him, make him turn back. Kingston would have got bottled up, Tipp would have gang tackled him and they’d have got a free out or a turnover. At worst, Kingston might have been able to wriggle away and swing a point over his shoulder.
Cahill has done that hundreds of times in his career. But for whatever reason, he chose to try and bury Kingston with a shoulder. He was like a bull running at a matador. Kingston saw him coming a mile off, gave a little swing of the hips and Cahill glanced off his arse and suddenly he was in on goal. I’ve never seen Cahill do that before.
Personal battles All the situation needed was a bit of defending. Tipp had a three-on-one advantage in terms of bodies – you only give away a goal in that scenario if you do something stupid or the forward does something unbelievable.
That moment told me everything about where Tipp were in that first half. Erratic, irrational, no clear sense of what they were doing and why they were doing it. It was like he was thinking, “Right, I’m just going to burst this lad – if I can do nothing else, at least I can do that.”
So what changed? Mickey Cahill didn’t get any faster or fitter or wiser at half-time, neither did any of the rest of them. Tipp didn’t learn anything about defending during that 15-minute break that they didn’t already know. All that changed was that their mentality was suddenly simplified. Lads, we either switch on here and start communicating better, start working harder for each other and start winning our own personal battles or this thing is over.
Brendan Maher turned over two balls early in the second half. Paudie Maher took that catch. Noel McGrath scored a point and won a free. The goalkeeper Brian Hogan caught an unbelievable ball over the crossbar to stop Darragh Fitzgibbon scoring the sort of point that would have got the Cork supporters back into it. In the blink of an eye, Tipp had five points on the board and they had all the momentum.
When Noel McGrath got his goal soon after, it showed exactly what they’re capable of when they’re playing with freedom and abandon. It came from a handy Cork possession that got disrupted by Bubbles O’Dwyer. He got a stick in, turned the ball over around the Cork 45 and three seconds later that ball was in the net. The speed of thought from Bubbles, the skill of Jason Forde to take the ball on the spin to lay it off and then Noel McGrath’s finish – there aren’t many teams who have that combination.
Outside of Galway, who else is there that really look like they have an All-Ireland in them? That’s why I think Tipperary are so dangerous now in the All-Ireland shake-up. When you can pull out a performance like that through nothing more sophisticated than a change in mentality, then everybody else has to be worried.
Tipp still have problems in the full-back line but they have the players and management to fix it. Life got a lot better for them back there when Brendan Maher went into the half-back line and when everyone further up the field attacked the ball and stopped Cork delivering pinpoint deliveries. That’s a template for further improvement as the summer goes on.
Now they have Waterford coming in under a cloud, decimated by injuries. Let’s say they win that. Let’s say they win it well. Suddenly they’re going into their final match of the round-robin on a high, bringing Clare to Thurles with a big spring in their step.
All their older guys are getting fitter and stronger by the week. Seamie Callanan might only have got a point last Sunday but look at the amount of work he was doing, sprinting back to get hooks and blocks in. When have we seen that from him before?
These are the little signs here and there that Tipp need. If they build on this, they can go all the way. Outside of Galway, who else is there that really look like they have an All-Ireland in them? Tipp need to hold onto that thought and kick on now. If they do, everyone else needs to watch out.
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 2, 2018 19:38:54 GMT
Over 34000 in PUC for Cork v Limerick
Finished level
Great open game and great atmosphere per the radio.
1.25 by Cork
0.28 by Limerick
Limerick played with 14 men for a long stretch
Cork have a week off now having played 3 weeks in a row
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 2, 2018 21:12:57 GMT
Cork and Limerick play out thrilling draw at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as Munster championship takes another twist Cork 1-25 Limerick 0-28
Conor McKenna
June 2 2018 8:48 PM
Cork and Limerick could not be separated, in what was arguably one of the greatest games in Munster Championship history, with both sides producing outstanding hurling for the spectators on show in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Conor Lehane got the game's first score with a point in the opening minute, with Cian Lynch responding for Limerick moments later.
Further scores from Graham Mulcahy and Seamus Flanagan gave the Treaty County a two point lead, before the lead switched hands completely with four Cork scores in a row courtesy of Daniel Kearney, Shane Kingston, Patrick Horgan and Darragh Fitzgibbon.
Seamus Flanagan and Patrick Horgan traded points, before two scores from Aaron Gillane and Darragh O’Donovan levelled proceedings.
Cork moved two points ahead in the 24th minute, after an excellent effort from Daniel Kearney.
Limerick were dealt a major blow shortly after, when Aaron Gillane was sent off on a straight red card, for a strike on Cork’s Sean O’Donoghue.
Referee James Owens consulted his linesman ahead of the decision but Gillane can have absolutely no complaints with the decision.
Cork were on top from this point until the interval and went into the the break with a 0-14 to 0-12 advantage.
Patrick Horgan scored the opening point of the second period, with a 38th minute effort, but three Limerick scores in a row levelled the game at 0-15 apiece.
Cork looked set to push on to victory after Patrick Horgan found the net in the 45th minute with a close range finish after an excellent pass by Seamus Harnedy.
Limerick responded magnificently though, with Darragh O’Donovan levelling the game heading into the final quarter.
Seamus Flanagan and Patrick Horgan traded scores, before three Limerick scores in a row gave John Kiely’s charges a three point lead.
Horgan’s free brought the gap down to two points with ten minutes remaining and Cork would have fancied themselves, playing with the aid of an extra man.
Horgan and Dan Morrissey traded scores, before Tom Morrissey’s free gave Limerick a three point advantage again.
Scores from Conor Lehane and Darragh Fitzgibbon left the gap at one point with four to play, before Pat Ryan missed a golden opportunity for Limerick, with Patrick Horgan then drawing the teams level with an outstanding effort.
Darragh Fitzgibbon then gave Cork the lead with a monster effort to raise the volume levels, before Diarmuid Byrnes' well-struck long range score tied things up again..
Patrick Horgan then restored his side's advantage with another free, before Kyle Hayes levelled again and referee James Owens called time on the game shortly after, to bring this absolute classic to an end.
Scorers for Cork: P Horgan 1-11 (8f, 1 “65”), D Fitzgibbon 0-4, C Lehane 0-3, D Kearney and S Kingston 0-2 each, M Coleman, C Spillane and L Meade 0-1 each.
Scorers for Limerick: T Morrissey 0-9 (5f), S Flanagan 0-5, C Lynch 0-3, G Mulcahy, K Hayes, D Byrnes (2f) and D O’Donovan 0-2 each, A Gillane (1f), G Hegarty and D Morrissey 0-1 each.
Cork: A Nash; S O'Donoghue, D Cahalane, C Spillane; M Ellis, C Joyce, M Coleman; D Fitzgibbon, B Cooper; S Harnedy, D Brosnan, D Kearney; S Kingston, C Lehane, P Horgan.
Subs: L Meade for Brosnan (h-t), T O’Mahony for O’Donoghue (h-t), M Cahalane for Kingston (60), J Coughlan for Lehane (73).
Limerick: N Quaid, S Finn, M Casey, R English; D Byrnes, D Hannon, D Morrissey; D O’Donovan, C Lynch; G Hegarty, K Hayes, T Morrissey; A Gillane, S Flanagan, G Mulcahy.
Subs: W O’Donoghue for Hannon (7), D Dempsey for Hegarty (55), P Browne for O’Donovan (61), B Murphy for Mulcahy (62), P Ryan for Flanagan (64).
Referee: J Owens (Wexford).
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 3, 2018 9:25:22 GMT
The Kerry hurlers and the Dublin hurlers lost two games that were there for the taking. Level or ahead going into injury time.
Darragh OConnell would have probably made the difference for either side in relation to qualifying but who can blame him for taking take time out from the game after two long seasons with Cuala.
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Post by glengael on Jun 4, 2018 10:19:09 GMT
Surprised at the silence on the 'ghost' goal n the Gaelic Grounds yesterday. We benefited from just such a goal in Tralee in 1998...
This Munster Championship has thrown up some really excellent games...
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 4, 2018 22:55:30 GMT
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 4, 2018 23:07:42 GMT
The round robins in hurling came about because the football came up with the super 8.
The 5 counties in Munster means a fantastic competition and its still all to play for.
Less so in Leinster where the only thing at issue is who will play Galway in the final. Waterford would have settled for a draw before the game but they can feel hard done by as no one else other than the umpire thought twas a goal.
No team seems able to play to the optimum in successive weeks and the teams playing three weeks in a row are spun out.
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Post by glengael on Jun 10, 2018 12:23:15 GMT
The Cats have rediscovered their lives....
More do or die in Munster this today...
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Post by kerrygold on Jun 10, 2018 14:40:42 GMT
The skill from Clare at the finish was insane!
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 10, 2018 15:27:09 GMT
Tipps 4 matches in 21 days caught up with them and the loss of Brendan Maher during the second half was key. They didnt turn up the first day v Limerick but its sad to see them go after the entertainment they gave in the three matches since. They would have made the top 3 in Leinster. They have nearly too skillful and lack more warriors like Paudie Maher.
Clare hung in there and went for the jugular at the end . Can they go on a roll now like 2013....next weeks clash with Limerick is effectively a munster semi final as Cork should top the table by beating Waterford
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Post by Attacking Wing Back on Jun 10, 2018 21:00:53 GMT
Tipp are unlucky to be out but also deservedly so. Were very lucky against Waterford last week to even have something to play for.
Something just seems off about them. Constant changes and no real settled team. It was similar in the league.
I think maybe ryan was too fixated about building a panel during the league for the 4 games in 21 days as well as keeping the team fresh during the period of the games.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2018 21:38:21 GMT
Tipp had four games and didn't win once. Hard to have too much sympathy for them.
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Post by Mickmack on Jun 10, 2018 21:48:10 GMT
The balance between grit and skill is off with Tipp.
But asking amateurs to play 4 games like that needs to be revisited.
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Post by glengael on Jun 11, 2018 6:47:24 GMT
We were being sold the line that players want matches every week instead of endless training sessions- will this be proof that this is not be sustainable for amatuers? I would be interested to hear the feedback on Tipp FM sports programme, I can imagine that this point will be made ....
Clare really took the initiative when they had to, their goal straight from the Tipp goal chance showed attacking play of the highest quality.
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Jun 11, 2018 6:49:41 GMT
I am sure we won't hear much about the schedule from Clare, Cork, and Limerick.
I don't know much about hurling but I presume Limerick are now second favourites for the AI after Galway?
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