Kilkenny
When you examine Kilkenny’s exit from the championship, there were signs last year that they are capable of being beaten.
Galway in the Leinster final did just that. Limerick in the All-Ireland quarter-final nearly replicated that feat. And it was primarily down to Henry Shefflin that they grabbed a draw in the All-Ireland final.
Kilkenny need to review their hurling style as it’s become outdated. There are a new generation of teams now who place a premium on retaining possession. Kilkenny’s style remains direct but a lot of the supply to their attack yesterday, and this season, has been aimless. They need to re-evaluate it.
A lot of Kilkenny fans were angry about the decision to send off Henry Shefflin yesterday. The second booking was completely justified, the first one may be debatable but Barry Kelly ruled instinctively on what he saw. He could do no more. Henry’s lack of protest was a great piece of sportsmanship.
Kilkenny may be critical of the refereeing but the way hurling has been refereed over the last numbers of years has aided and abetted and suited Kilkenny. Brian Cody consistently ordered referees to leave hurling alone and that did aid Kilkenny. They set the agenda but there is now a new era of hurling,
There was no comparison with the Shefflin sending-off to the error made in dismissing Cork’s Patrick Horgan in the Limerick game. Kilkenny supporters must remember liberal refereeing has helped them to dominate the game.
There’s plenty wondering will Henry come back. He’s entitled to take as long as he wants. I’m not sure will he return but I certainly hope he does. He has been the greatest hurler of his generation and that would be a terrible way for his career to conclude.
Kilkenny’s Henry Shefflin sits on the bench after being sent off.
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Cork
Last Thursday night I spoke on Newstalk about how much I believed several aspects of this game favoured Cork. I expected them to hurl extremely well and they delivered. They have young, extremely skilful hurlers who imposed themselves on this game.
Daniel Kearney was outstanding at midfield, he’s a great link man in the modern game. Patrick Horgan had a massive game. His availability after being initially suspended was a big boost but I still feel Cork had the capacity to win without them. Their defence got on top early yesterday and at the other end they never allowed lynchpins like Brian Hogan and JJ Delaney to dominate.
Kilkenny have been running on empty this season and Cork were the right team at the right time to take them down. And Kilkenny didn’t have the class in reserve to change the game.
Cork will have a strong belief in themselves now going forward. Some of their supporters will feel ‘this is Dublin, we won’t lose an All-Ireland semi-final to Dublin’. But that is a dangerous view and the type of talk the Cork management will need to guard against.
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Clare
I couldn’t see anything other than a Clare victory before yesterday’s game. I felt that they were going to click at some juncture to post a massive score on the board and they did just that yesterday in hitting 1-23. They were very well-drilled and once they got into their rhythm, they dominated the game.
They move up the park and play heads-up hurling which helps them supply their forwards with great possession. They’re very structured, very focused and well able to execute it.
I’d give huge credit to their manager for that. I’ve been critical of Davy Fitzgerald in the past but he deserves great credit for implementing such a great gameplan for this team. What Davy has done has been as seismic as what Jim McGuinness has done with Donegal when you consider that two years ago Clare were hammered by Galway.
I looked at Davy after the match yesterday and he shook Anthony Cunningham’s hand before bolting down the tunnel. It was quite a mature thing to do as he was pointing out how this was an occasion for his players to enjoy after their great win. It wasn’t about him.
He’s a hugely emotional figure and he showed a maturity that we haven’t always seen from him. His side now face Limerick in a semi-final that is going to be an absolutely magical occasion. Right now it’s an impossible game to call.
Clare’s John Conlon celebrates after the game
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Galway
There is some surprise that Galway have regressed this year from the heights of 2012 but quite simply it is evidence of the flakiness that has been evident in Galway hurling since 1988 when they last won the All-Ireland title.
I have a lot of great friends in Galway who accuse me of being hard on their county. I’m not, I simply point to the facts and look at the history of their sides. There is a snobbish element to Galway hurling that looks down on the likes of Clare, Offaly and Wexford.
They feel they are on par with the top counties like Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary but that simply is not the case. Galway need to wake up and smell the roses. They had a clear run to All-Ireland finals for years with a bye to the semi-final stage but could not capitalise on that. The backdoor system has made no difference and there is still an arrogance that is there that is unfounded.
Yesterday I was amazed that the Galway management did not counteract Clare’s system properly. They made 5 or 6 changes from last year and a further three changes at half-time. It smacked of panic.
I’ve a lot of time for Anthony Cunningham but he is deluding himself if he is saying that they scored two great goals to keep in touch in the second-half. The first was a goalkeeper mistake and the second was a loose handpass by the Clare corner-back straight to Joe Canning who set up Niall Healy. Clare were far superior and Galway have a lot of soul-searching to do.
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
