Quilligan was wake enough for the goal. Started off with his hands in a terrible position. Murphy would have caught that with his cap.
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Brian Gavin: Clare had strong grounds for grievances with some of the officiating
Having started well, Colm Lyons struggled in the second half at Croke Park
AH REF: Tony Kelly of Clare with referee Colm Lyons during the All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Kilkenny and Clare at Croke Park
SUN, 09 JUL, 2023 - 21:11
It had all started so well for Colm Lyons in the second of the All-Ireland semi-finals. Giving good and clear advantage, the likes of David McInerney and Huw Lawlor were allowed the opportunity to score fine points as a result.
Seadna Morey was picked up for a yellow card on Tom Phelan but then things started to slip. Colm missed a yellow card for an over-zealous foul by Conor Fogarty on Tony Kelly, which first drew the frustration of the Clare supporters.
Adam Hogan was rightly booked for slapping across Eoin Cody but as Colm played advantage Phelan then ploughed into John Conlon and he did nothing about it. That there was no sanction beggared belief.
To make matter worse, a few minutes later he pulled back the action for a foul on Peter Duggan just as Mark Rodgers was finding the Kilkenny net. Clare fans were seething with that and rightly so but across the two games the advantage rule was being butchered with far too much time given for attacks to develop.
In that second half, Colm looked lost. Richie Hogan should have been whistled for overcarrying before Diarmuid Ryan took him out and was booked. Walter Walsh was clever in how he drew the late free from David McInerney too. Those couple of borderline placed balls scored by TJ Reid sure made Kilkennyâs life easier.
Thereâs no doubt that Clare contributed to their own downfall with the concession of the goal. Eoin Murphyâs saves and Conor Fogartyâs block were factors too. But Clare had strong grounds for grievances with some of the officiating. Colm, when he reviews the game, might not like some of what he sees.
Going into the weekend, I felt Saturdayâs game was going to be the tougher of the two to ref just because of the physical nature of the teams involved. For the first 45 minutes or so, it was a test for James Owens but he showed some great advantage in the opening half, especially for Aaron Gillaneâs goal and a Conor Whelan point.
Kyle Hayes rightly went into the book for a chop on Brian Concannon, who had started the game at 100 miles an hour. And James was keeping a tight rein on proceedings, refusing to let too much go.
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The big talking point in the first half was the stoppage in play as Nickie Quaid took off his helmet when it appeared he was signalling about a stomach issue. This is the second time the Limerick goalkeeper has done that in this championship and you canât but think itâs a tactical move.
Letâs be honest, Limerick were under the pump at that stage. Six points down and their puckouts in a bit of bother, the breather was welcomed and they ended up outscoring Galway 1-18 to six points for the rest of the match. No doubt if it is repeated in the final, the referee will have to take a dim view.
Jamesâ control of the game loosened in the second half as proven by Galway not receiving a free out for a foul on SeĂĄn Linnane just before Cian Lynch put in motion the move for Gillaneâs second goal. In the first half, it would have been a Galway free but the refereeing style had changed.
Grappling with Seamus Flanagan on the ground and guilty of a high tackle, Jack Grealish could have been booked twice but only saw yellow once. Cathal OâNeill was rightly carded for a wild pull late on and James had done reasonably well before the game as a contest petered out.
Having said that, and it was a trend across both matches, the amount of questionable handpasses and steps taken. Itâs something you almost come to expect around the end of the championship but in the league or start of the provincial championships these offences would be punished accordingly.
Onto the final on Sunday week and if GAA politics donât get in the way John Keenan should be getting ready for his first All-Ireland final. I sure hope they donât deny him this earned opportunity.
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MON, 10 JUL, 2023 - 06:45
When I was the Dublin manager, before we went into battle for a big championship game, I often referenced the famous Spartan quote: "Come back with your shield - or on itâ.
It was supposed to be the parting cry of mothers to their Spartan warrior sons, who wanted those sons to die honourably on the battlefield. Of course itâs never right to compare sport with war and death but we always tried to impress that code in Dublin where, even if youâre beaten, be beaten with pride and honour.
In an amateur game, itâs difficult to be too critical of players who give so much to the cause. I know myself from my days as a player and manager how hard it can be. But still, there is a right and a wrong way to lose. Clare lost with huge pride on Sunday. Galway lost with zero honour the previous day. Clare came home last night on their shields. Galway came home on Saturday without them.
Clare will have huge regrets but they couldnât have done much more either. The real pain will be felt around a couple of key scores, especially Eoin Codyâs goal, when Rory Hayes was dispossessed coming out of the Clare defence. Rory had a brilliant year but conceding a needless sideline cut shortly afterwards, especially with TJ Reid around, was another key score as it put Kilkenny back two in front when Clare were desperately trying to keep the margin to the minimum.
It was a soul-destroying loss. The critics will question why Clare went with a sweeper in the first half, especially when you saw how much joy Clare got when they pushed up. But when you try something, you have to stick to your guns.
Clare were still only five points behind at half-time, which is nothing in hurling. When Clare went two ahead, I felt there was only going to be one winner. Clare had the Plan B ready to roll out, which they did. It just wasnât enough.
The vast majority of that has to do with Kilkenny but Colm Lyonsâ refereeing played a part too. Maybe Adam Hogan should have been black-carded for the pull on Eoin Cody but Cody got his goalscoring chance, which was brilliantly saved by Eibhear Quilligan. Mark Rodgers though, was denied his chance, which he buried past Eoin Murphy. Why not play on?
Itâs easier to feel aggrieved when the result goes against you but you also have to tip your hat to Murphy for his save from Peter Duggan late on. Incredible stuff. Such are the margins.
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In fairness, you have to hand it to Kilkenny. No matter what, they always turn up. We didnât turn up last year, but there is never any doubt that Kilkenny will arrive in Croke Park at this stage absolutely ready to rock and roll. Some of their performances were out of this top drawer, especially Cody. Once again, TJâs freetaking was immense.
They will be underdogs again in the final but theyâll have learned their lessons from last year. Winning this game will stand to them too, especially when they walked into last yearâs final without getting really tested in the semi-final.
Clare are heartbroken today but every man, woman and child is incredibly proud of how these boys have fought back all season since losing the first game to Tipperary.
When the dust settles, the key for Clare is to keep Brian Lohan in place. There was a stage not too long ago when Clare couldnât get a field to even train in. Look at where he has brought the team since those dark days.
The harshest critics will say we still have no silverware after a fourth year in charge. But I really believe if you stay with something, and you believe in yourself enough, you can get there. Itâs not all about trophies either. You want to be proud of your tribe. And every single one of those players were carried home on their shields.
What are they thinking in Galway today? I was very disappointed with them. To me, they just gave up too easily. Ok, they were being overrun but thatâs when you have to decide as a player that, while the game may be going away from you, youâre at least going to dig in and limit the damage. And too many of Galwayâs players didnât. I certainly donât think that Clare or Kilkenny would throw in the towel against Limerick that easily.
Galway were submerged beneath a raging tide but they let the ship sink too easily. I felt that game was over at half-time. You just knew that once Limerick got them into a corner in the second half that there was no way out for Galway.
I never saw as many fellas downing tools. Who could hold their hands up? Maybe Darren Morrissey and Jack Grealish in the two corners. But after that? Brian Concannon, Cathal Mannion and Conor Whelan were really good in the first half but all three were nowhere to be seen after the break.
It was frustrating for Whelan when Galway couldnât get the ball up to him but he was out around the middle for much of that half and he just couldnât get on the ball.
Limerick have been an incredible team but this performance emphatically reaffirmed their greatness. After 25 minutes, you were wondering if the show was grinding to a halt. Limerick were struggling for oxygen. Their big players werenât performing. They could have been eight points down if Mike Casey hadnât blocked a Concannon shot with the tip of his hurley. But that almost seemed to be the spark they were craving to ignite that inferno that burned Galway alive.
They just savaged Galway in the tackle and at every opportunity to nail a Galway player in possession. Evan Niland was surrounded at one stage and it genuinely looked like a young gazelle being ferociously hunted down like a gang of crazed lions, something like youâd see on the Discovery Channel.
Limerickâs size and power is their sword and shield but how they wield and use that sword defines their class.
Where do Galway go next? Where does Henry Shefflin go next? Major surgery is required. Do Galway have those players coming through? Maybe they donât but they need to look for leaders, especially on-field leaders. Once the heat came on, too many Galway players just wilted in that heat.
It must be devastating for Henry. He will be sick with this performance. He canât go out onto the field and take the bull by the horns like he used to do as a player, but this is his team too, which is a reflection of his management. Even his leaders failed to step up.
Galwayâs gameplan in the first half was top-class. They were isolating their forwards smartly. Galway were doing well on puckouts. They had Limerick penned in. But, like Clare in the Munster final, when you have Limerick on the ropes, you have to try and finish them off. Once Galway didnât, Limerick came out swinging and just landed haymaker after haymaker.
The Galway puckout was a complete meltdown. Eanna Murphyâs restarts were obliterated but there was little or no movement for too many of those puckouts. Even when there was some movement in the second half, Murphy didnât trust the players â or himself - enough to ping it at them.
I donât want to make this all about Galway when it was all about Limerick, but everything we have said about them before was smeared all over this performance again. Darragh OâDonovan was immense and a deserving man of the match but you could have picked out any one of them.
The most impressive aspect of it was how some of those players - like Kyle Hayes, Diarmaid Byrnes, David Reidy, Cian Lynch, Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan â were struggling so much in the first half. But when the real questions were asked, Limerick just found the answers again.
They can spook teams so easily at this stage with their class and power. The scariest bit about it all for the final is that Limerick looked so vulnerable and yet they could still override that vulnerability with such ease when they put their minds to it.
Theyâre an incredible bunch of men.
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Sorry lads havenât read the thread,
Excuse for the Corkman, did he assume that the Kilkenny full back would make/had made that easy catch? 
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Lohan blaming the Sunday Game pundits for âbiasedâ coverage of his Clare team.
Even has a moan over two Clare players getting suspensions following the 2022 Munster final.
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I think lyons made the right decision. Duggan made a demonstrative effort to win the free and mishit it straight into lawlor. Lyons blew the whistle straight away. There was a couple of seconds between the whistle and the goal, the clare lads were chancing their arm.
The result is we have more chat and articles about referees than what was an epic second half of hurling. Again
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â They just savaged Galway in the tackle and at every opportunity to nail a Galway player in possession. Evan Niland was surrounded at one stage and it genuinely looked like a young gazelle being ferociously hunted down like a gang of crazed lions, something like youâd see on the Discovery Channel. â
Iâm still seething over the decision to start Morey. He is totally useless as a sweper, always fumbling and slipping. His shooting and distribution is not intercounty standard. It was corrected then for the second half and wasnât the reason the game was lost but just a totally unjustifiable call. Reminiscent of the bad days in 2015.
Could have won it but KK were the more clinical team.
Great game but a tough result to process
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Letâs do it like they do on the Discovery ChannelâŚ
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Yeah, think he blew just before the ball reached Lawlor. I donât think he was looking in towards the goal by the time Rodgers gained possession, he was marking the spot of the free & shouting at Duggan & whoever fouled him.
You wonât hear any arguments here. The way hurling is gone, small light stickmen have no place in the game, we canât carry the likes of Niland into next year. A rebuild is required Joe Cooney, Mac and Daithi have alot of miles on the clock and it showed on Saturday. Weâll be off the radar of a while.
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It was bizarre given some of the advantages he had played throughput the match, there was one late in the first half where he gave the free after close to a 10 second advantage. He had a very poor game.
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Correct. I said it at the time, the whistle was blown a couple of seconds before the ball was put in the net. Complete non story. The game had stopped ffs.
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I do think Limerick have a very strong half-back line but we were down Hannon, and Galway did cause us problems in that area in the first half. And it wasnât through pure ballwinning ability or anything like that, it was really clever movement both in front and in behind the half-back line and some very precise passes (which are very hard to maintain).
I get that itâs hard to maintain that level of energy for 70 minutes, but they didnât even keep it going for 40 minutes. Which is why I thought possibly rotating some other players in and out of the half-forward line might have kept it going for a bit longer.
I do think Limerick re-organised before half-time and sorted a lot of it out but still there were vulnerabilities shown. Even WODâs first touch let him down a couple of times with passes out of defence; ones that are more forgivable in midfield but can potentially leave you in trouble at CB. And we also lost his energy as a midfielder in the first half to get tackles in on Galway men; they actually overran us in that area for 25 minutes.
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I stand corrected, he blew just after Lawlor spilled the ball, but he may have averted his eyes away from it before blowing & assumed Lawlor caught it?
RULE
When the referee has adjudicated that a foul has been committed (either Technical or Aggressive) he may allow play to continue if he considers it to be to the advantage of the offended team.
He may allow this advantage to run for up to five seconds after the foul or for less time if is clear that no advantage has accrued.
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I think Lyons will definitely regret blowing a little too early but you can definitely see why he did it. Itâs a really frustrating one, and Iâm sure heâs kicking himself over that one tbh.
In general, heâs not a great ref but that one is at least very understandable.
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Brian Gavin comes across as a complete stones with that article today. Lyons made mistakes yesterday but for Gavin to throw him under the bus like that is very poor form
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The real issue is kelly roaring in to his face and Lohan trying to intimidate the linesman. I know its the heat of the moment and tensions are high but the officials should be respected. Going up and roaring in their face isnt on and should be left to soccer players
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