Itās a hard call but what area do you call it
I was there for the division one/two football finals. Had to leave early in the first half of div. 1 final it was that cold. Horrendous place on a cold day.
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Their touch was off from early on they.are not that bad
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Was there myself. Blasted by wind for the evening.
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Never found their rhythm.
An utterly miserable experience. I would add that to my list of games Iām sorry I ever attended. The concourse is dangerous at half time too. There was a near crush in the middle section.
And the absolute state of the stairwell, one part flooded, another part full of sludge.
I hate modern stadium design.
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You will never win an all Ireland when fellas take a touch with the hurley rather than the hand. Basic stuff. Dublin were game as fuck but the basics let them down.
Galway are a wildcard in the whole thing now
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Too much time in the gym and not enough time practicing the skills is Dublinās undoing again.
Thereās an All Ireland there for Galway to go and win. The field is not that vintage with Limerick regressing back to the pack over last few years.
I was debating whether Iād go up until 4.15 because of the weather. Then I said fuck it Iāll go and I headed around for the bus. In the end Iād probably have been better off staying at home. The Dublin hurling fans are an odd bunch, shouting āHow is that not a freeā every 10 seconds. Answer - because itās not a foul. I get the impression they are not terribly invested as to whether their team wins or loses.
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Its been a very messy few weeks for Galway but that was some way to fire back tonight.
Its effectively a free shot now in a Semi Final where theyāll still be rank outsiders against either an aging Limerick or a Cork team under insane pressure. Its no bad place to be.
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I head down to the Leinster final most years - the difference between the movement and fluidity of Galwayās attack this evening was some contrast to their non-performance in last years final. They also look to be a team with real pace and energy. But Glennonās point in the 2nd half, where he took a puckout in 40 yards of space and put it over the bar, summed up the Dubs display and so itās hard to get any real read of where Galway may be at. If they can pick from a full deck the next day though they will cause bother for whoever they face.
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I was approached by Dublin Hurling Woman at the bus stop near McBirneyās department store who told me āI think they deliberately lost that.ā
I smiled and nodded.
For some reason this was parked across the road.
Galway played a nice game but Dublin were so tactically clueless itās hard to get a proper read on how good they really are. Dublin were as tactically clueless as Iāve ever seen a team and youād have to have doubts over OāCeallachain now given heās presided over two total tactical disasters in Croke Park. Dublin reminded me a bit of Kilkenny in the second half of the 2019 All-Ireland, just lumping long ball in. Kilkenny at least had the excuse they had 14 men. This was a great victory for Derek McGrath and Jim McGuinness, mind.
Iād have my doubts about O Ceallachain too. Hauling a forward off after 25 minutes and then bringing on a sub and hauling him after 25 minutes strikes me as a fella who wants to be seen as a ruthless manager
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To haul a sub is a fair shout
In fairness, Purcell was really poor when he came on, I thought.
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It worked for Tommy Carr.
In fairness Purcell had a nightmare when he came on.
I donāt know why Ronan Hayes doesnāt start because clearly he is in the top three, probably top two forwards Dublin in terms of talent, especially with OāSullivan out. That smacks of something, lack of trust or whatever, that transmits to a team.
Iād have questions about why John Bellew wasnāt used. He offers a shooting threat. And Dublin needed to vary their threats.
OāCeallachĆ”ins belief in leaving vast space for extremedly dangerous opposition forwards in Croke Park is reminiscent of parody Barcelona ideology. But he isnāt managing Barcelona.
Lack of trust in forwards, too much trust in defence.
Galway played a basic ācome into my web said the spider to the flyā game plan and Dublin flew right into it like a fly.
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Was the sub not injured?
Taking off the fella 30 seconds before half time was an odd one, even if he was injured too
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Commiserations to @binkybarnes @Domhnach_Cearnach and all the other Dublin hurling forumites.
A strange kind of game. Thought the first half was quite decent and after Nearyās goal at 1-7 t0 4pts all was going good from a Galway viewpoint. Then down went the two Burkeās and we were looking to go on the back foot again. Those two lads are actually that important to us. Dawhee soldiered on. And in doing so, kept Hertherton quite. He has kept better players quite, but the same fella did a lot of damage in Salthill.
NOāC will be really disappointed with how his team managed the last 15 minutes. Dublin were right back in it after the penalty and then there was nothing from them at all. Very one dimensional stuff. Galway could counter and pick off scores at will.
We now go into the semi final against Munster opposition in four weeks time. This young side are likely to be total outsiders. But itās a Leinster title for Galway in '26, and finally a fucking win in Croke Park. Only our second since September 2017. Iāll take that.
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