[QUOTE=“Lazarus, post: 968928, member: 286”]Tough hard Championship Hurling yesterday with an unbelievable finish. The game of Hurling is a gift from the Gods. My Galway ratings
Callinan 6
Distribution was superb but the fluke Larkin goal seemed to affect his confidence. Was making saves from the type of shots Reid and Fennelly scored from in his sleep all year.
Moore 7
Solid and reliable as ever although caught out of position and a bit for pace for the first goal
Ronan Burke 7
Fine display I thought. Well up to this level.
Collins 8
Best defender overall. Between the 3 of them the full back line will need to figure out how Fennelly was left with so much space
Coen 5
Got caught for Reids goal. Failed to impose himself on the game. Struggling for a bit of form. Might be replaced by Harte the next day
Daithi 7
Did well generally I though although can do even better.No 6 is the spot for him anyway
Tan 8
Typical Tan display. Slow and awkward but powerful contributions at critical times. Got exposed badly by Tommy Walsh when he came on. Targeted again by Kilkenny and will be again in the replay. I actually thought he might get himself sent off at one stage in the 2nd half but held it together just about.
Smith 8
Seems to be getting better with the years. His abrasive style is ideal for taking on Kilkenny, he knows how to get inside their heads. Has become a real leader for this team, need more of the same in the replay
Brehony 5
Worked hard at it but way off the form he showed in the league. Will start again in the replay
David Burke 6
Can’t fault him for effort but it’s just not happening for him for whatever reason. Looks a touch burned out maybe. I remember someone saying Ritchie Hogan was the better hurler 2 years ago and I laughed. Not laughing now. Went missing when KK surged in the 2nd half but wasn’t the only one and will probably start again the next day. If he does somehow return to the heights of 2012 it could make all the difference to this team.
Niall Burke 7
Great first half, disappeared in the 2nd. Needs to become more than a cameo hurler. That said Cunningham might have been a bit hasty taking him off, all the ball was going in Glynns direction in the 2nd.
Conor Cooney 8
Probably our most consistent player this year, certainly up front, dispatched both goals with venom I thought he looked like he was carrying a knock in the 2nd half
Cathal Mannion 3
Game completely passed him by. Will get another chance but might not have the required aggression for Championship hurling
Joe 9
How the fuck does he do it?
Jason Flynn 8
Excellent display from a lad making his first start in Championship, forced a couple of fine saves from Murphy but should really have gone for the point in the 1st half and had to goal with his chance in the 2nd. Very promising performance
Subs
Glynn 8
Great stuff out of him. If he played like that all the time we’d be set. Will start the nest day for Mannion which means we’ll be going big again up front
Joe Cooney 8
Integral to our comeback. The swift interplay with Joe for Conor Cooneys 1st goal was simply marvellous and his awareness, vision, not to mention toughness for the 2nd was a fucking inspiration. Pushing hard for a starting berth on the back of that most likely at David Burkes or Coens expense.
Hayes, Gearoíd Mac, Hynes
None of these lads made much of an impact, Cunningham was just throwing darts in desperation in the 2nd half. Hynes did have one awful miss I think.
Sideline 7
I was actually reasonably confident at HT, thought they had it spot on and that we’d learn from the league semi and not allow KK overrun us in the 2nd. When the ship started sinking badly then it was sobering to say the least but they found a way, however dramatically, to fix it, something countless Galway sides have failed to do in the past. Contrary to what a lot of experts would have you believe, Kilkenny haven’t actually morphed into a bad team overnight and there’s still a residue of their greatness when in full flow as in the 2nd half there yesterday but credit to our lads for never stopping trying led heroically by Joe. It’s a credit to management that they had that belief but they need to learn from their mistakes too, and fast. Winning the replay is well achievable, I’d go with this for Saturday
Callinan
Moore
R Burke
Collins
Harte
Daithi
Tan
Smith
Brehoney
Joe Cooney
N Burke
Conor Cooney
Joe
Glynn
Flynn
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Thats a good summary of things.
I am not sure how much the sideline had to do with what happened. For once I think our players decided not to throw the towel in… and being honest we got a bit of luck along the way too.
I need to watch the game back again but the likes of Tannian, Collins, Canning and Cooney stayed plugging away with the help of the freshness of Cooney and Glynn.
Callanan had an off day yesterday but his distribution was top notch.
AC will find it hard to make a case for starting Brehony the next day. Not sure the physical type game is where he flourishes and it all kind of bypassed him yesterday. Either him or David Burke has to be dropped… you cant start with both of them again in my opinion.
Could you put Johnny Coen specifically minding Hogan the next day? We are going to have to somehow curtail him?
Larkins goal looked terrible if your a Galway defender. He gathered the ball at pace but he should have been anywhere near the goal mouth. Like wise our positioning for Fennellys goal… :rolleyes: