Leinster Hurling Thread *

Job done but still a mixed enough performance. We haven’t played to our full potential since the league final last year in a way, forwards need to be a bit cuter and look for the occasional short pass. They are clearly being told to go for goals but a few times today that led to lads getting a bll and trying to plow through head down which wont work at this level.

Took a while to get going and there was a bit of a reluctance to put hands up and catch hard ball in the first half but came out more focused and willing to work and ended the game after 8/9 minutes which was impressive. Glynn mixed it well with the long puck outs but was at sea in the second half. No disrespect but they should have thrown a few backs subs on earlier and see how they went.

On wexford id feel for them. The all action passes to runners game looks great when it works but is too intricate and must really sap them. Davy can play to crowd remonstrating with canning but his job is to set them up to chase a deficit if necessary and they are not able to, our backs coasted through the second half. Few nasty slaps, i suppose out of frustration, but then tuohy showed his streak too and needs to be screamed at to never go near a helmet again.

Terrible reffing, ruined any chance of a game developing, some of the stuff he pulled for was ludicrous.

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Five of those six finals were against Kilkenny, who are traditionally the one county that has the slight upper hand on them in head to heads.

They’re three from three against Galway in that time.

Even Cork’s last final in 2013 demonstrates why it’s always foolish to write them off. That Cork team shouldn’t have been within an arse’s roar of an All-Ireland final, and were comprehensively outplayed by Clare both days, but in the drawn game, they scored three second half goals and took the lead for the first time in injury time - only a last gasp Hail Mary shot from the right corner back from 45 metres out on the left sideline 30 seconds after the alotted two minutes had elapsed saved Clare. In the replay Clare again found them exceedingly difficult to shake off, just about falling over the line.

One gets the feeling about this Cork team that they have goals in them when they need them. They certainly have plenty of marquee players from midfield up and pace in abundance. As has already been said, it’s a good trait in a team to dig out a result when they are under the cosh, and they were very much under the cosh at three points down after 65 minutes this evening.

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Counting draws and replays as the one fixture (using the @Nembo_Kid model) stretching
back to 2006, Cork have lost 8 of their last 10 championship games in Croke Park, losing to a variety of counties - Kilkenny, Waterford, Clare, Tipperary and Galway Their only 2 wins in those 10 in Croke Park were against Antrim and Dublin. Not a Croke Park team anymore.

2013 was probably the softest All Ireland ever won. Neither Cork or Clare has to face either Kilkenny or Tipperary who won every other All Ireland 2006-16 between them.

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Those annoying cunts behind us today were in front of me for the Dublin game.

Yeah, Chin’s not himself at all since the middle of the league. He destroyed Christopher Joyce in the park, then had a quiet game or two, missed a game and was off form v Kilkenny in the league semi, and now Dublin and Galway in the championship.

With Chin and McDonald not at their best, a lot is falling on the shoulders of O’Connor. But if you’re only playing 5 forwards then you probably need more than 1 or 2 of them firing.

That said, you also probably need your defence snapping up loose ball landing around the 21 if you’ve an extra man back there.

It’s possibly clutching but did 3 weeks in a row adversely impact us and Cork this week and/or Offaly and Kilkenny last week? Either way, 4 weeks in a row isn’t going to make us any fresher. I was surprised he didn’t use the full bench tonight given the result was gone, loads of players could have been hooked and we’re on again next week.

Is he? I’ve never heard this before.

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Cork knocked out Kilkenny in 2013, Geoff.

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My thoughts exactly. Wexford are better than this.

Mea culpa, they did. That was Kilkenny’s year off. They lost to Dublin for the first time since the 40’s, nearly lost to Waterford for first time since 1959 and had King Henry incorrectly sent off against Cork.

2013 with the passing of time stands as an anomaly, the Leicester City year. You’ve only to look at the form lines of Clare and Cork before 2013 and since.

I think the 3 week thing is a dead herring.

I’d like to have seen Colm Kehoe (Cloughbawn not Bunclody) getting some game time before now. Big strong and mobile. Unlikely to get a look in now.

Galway are fucking massive.

There are plenty of teams who could trouble Galway yet but Cork ain’t one of them. They let a nine point lead slip last week & hung on against 14 men for a draw tonight.

Only Limerick can stop Galway this year. A properly focused and in the mood Tipperary could, but Tipperary are not going to be that this year.

You can only beat the teams in front of you.

In 2018, Kilkenny are in transition and while they will reach at least the last six, it’s hard to see them going any further than an All-Ireland semi-final.

If Tipperary can somehow survive in the Munster bear pit, they might have another kick in them, but at the moment I wouldn’t be backing them to even make a quarter-final.

Cork have done very well to emerge from three successive weeks’ hurling with a win and two draws.

With Waterford likely to be the whipping boys of Munster this year, Cork should have little trouble clinching qualification after a week’s rest against an already eliminated team playing for the fourth week on the bounce.

That’s not a bad place to be at this stage of the competition.

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Waterford will be no where near as bad as some on here believe. If Tipp are to win, they won’t be getting it handy.

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There might be a kick in them, and Tipp are on their third week out in a row, but it’s almost impossible to see them sustain such key player losses.

Cork beat KK in 2013

Ozzy back in the starting team is a huge plus.

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No hope. Tipp are the big danger.

I’d fully expect Tipperary to win tomorrow but would agree with you that I anticilate Waterford will give a better account of themselves than expected. If Gleeson and O’Mahony could survive unscathed tomorrow and get Maurice and Kevin Moran back for last two games, they still have prospects of advancement. Waterford have gone a lot better in modern times against Limerick and Cork than they have against Tipperary and Clare.

Wrong thread.

Correct.