A bit of perspective. Kk also third week out after two massive efforts. We shouldnât lose the run.
1 Like
Iâm an eternal optimist you see.
All that went wrong, and youâre right to point it out. And they still won. Itâs a great sign.
weâd have lost that game previously. without all that going wrong weâd have found a way to lose it.
Weâre slowly starting to find ways to win games rather than lose them .
1 Like
The difference in playing Flanagan v Dowling is being massively overstated. Obviously Flanagan runs more, but Dowling offers more in other ways and is as good or better as a provider. I would go with Flanagan v Cork on the basis of his last performance against them. In my view Dowling is still real competition to start at FF and I think itâs dangerous to leave him on the bench. In Flanaganâs favour is that he tires the fuck out of defences and of the two if one is to he held as an impact sub, Dowling is more likely to make that impact.
disagree strongly with this. The hooking, blocking and tackling by both sides was a joy to watch. Their forwards and ours put backs under huge pressure. Nothing at all was given handy on Sunday
1 Like
Yeâre all too hung up on FF. The positions inside matter fuck all with the amount of movement being done by them. Itâs very hard to pin anyone down to a position.
2 Likes
Nickie English noted in his column that after the goal Limerick âthrew off the shacklesâ and kicked on. I thought it was the wrong turn of phrase, before we would have thrown off the shackles and started langering huge high ball up the field, instead we upped the intensity and stuck to the game plan and didnât lose the head. It was brilliant to see.
1 Like
My mother would have scored v Waterford.
Look I am a fan of Hegartys but no matter what way you look at it his speed of striking is not at the highest level. He has the heart of a lion, one of the best athletes and for me an automatic choice on the team I am just not convinced its in the forwards. If you go back to last Sunday he touched the ball twice in the first 25mins. Once blocked down and toook the ball over the side line. He then got onto an excellent cross from Flanagan I would contend if it was a top class forward would have buried it. He took his point fair enough.
The point he scored that Murphy saved didnât have enough power. He had to hit it without catching. He scored a long range point that Cian passed to him also. That he ended up with 3 points from play was outstanding and I never cease to be amazed at his workrate but its workrate not wrists. Maybe a reason that we didnât perform in Ennnis is that we are overly reliant on workrate.
lads make out Dowling is a tree that needs to be planted on the edge of the square overnight. The man can cover ground too and get out in front when needs be.
If he wasnât fit enough he wouldnât be on the panel
3 Likes
Spot on. He covers a lot of ground.
Dowling and flanagan made the same run on various occasions and managed to get in each others way v clare. You badly need to rewatch the game. Then we turned to hoof ball in to dowling who was isolated. Dowling isnât much of a threat in a two man full forward line where as gillane and graeme are. You have a very poor understanding of the game plan. You keep saying flanagan doesnât play full forward even though almost every single one of his runs are out of the full forward position keeping the full back with him. If flanagan tries this from the corner position he is only dragging a corner back with him which is far less dangerous to the opposition and doesnât create the same wholes in a defense.
1 Like
No doubt he covers a lot of ground but is it the best uses of his strengths? How many 50 yard sprints will he make in a game before being wrecked? Very few. If we ask dowling to do what seamus does heâll be done by half time. Dowling best position in this team and tactics is around the middle of the field. Playing a free role. You know this is true but for you to admit this youâll either be admitting dowling shouldnât start which kills you inside. The only lad who would be suited to the flanagan role is pat ryan. Not sure heâll win those long diagonal balls as well though.
You canât say anything about Dowlung because the precious child will take it as insult against his beloved Seamie,
It is being massively overstated and could cost Limerick, what Dowling brings to the party meanwhile is being completely undervalued by the West Limerick agenda, just because he does a job for 10 minutes doesnât mean he hasnât it in him, the funny thing is that Dowling was far better than Flanagan in the Clare game, Flanagan hasnât had a good game in a while
1 Like
I know this is Limerick Cork thread but my 2 cents on both semi finals.
Much has been written about Kilkennys demise and how Limerick limped over the line but it was evident from the 2 Galway games and even the corresponding fixture last year against Waterford that if you dont bury them when you get a chance and intensity levels drop a scintilla then they will grab that opportunity with both hands. They always do. They never stop playing.
Its an intriguing semi final line up. Clare have produced some brilliant performances this year that would make you think the munster final collapse was an aberration. Some players have rediscovered their form from yesteryears most notably Podge Collins and Tony Kelly whilst some of the stalwarts in the lean years like David McInerney, Colm Galvin have regressed a bit. In Duggan and Conlon (who is surely a contender for player of the year) they have enough ammo to trouble Galway however I cant see how that Galway forward unit of 6 or maybe even 9 by the end of regulation will be stopped. They can beat you in so many different ways. Clare will need about 3 goals to have any chance in this. Its hard to pinpoint a Galway weakness. you might have said John Hanbury could potentially be got at but he was a revelation against Kilkenny the 2nd day so much so that Ger Aylward was benched for the replay. So many of the Clare go to players or match winners are slated to match up with Galways most reliable players and Galway have too much elsewhere. For me its Galway by 6.
Limerick have had a handy bounce back win against Carlow and a backs to the wall effort against Kilkenny. Cork have been functional and havent been convincing a lot of the time. In the round robbin they struggled to beat Waterford who were on holidays, collapsed and only barely held on against Tipp, and played a draw against 14 man Limerick at home. Against Clare they didnât turn up in the first half and were heavily reliant on sniping scores from Horgan and moments of brilliance from Harnedy. its not the first time this year Harnedy has come up trumps for Cork. He always seems to do it when the need is greatest. 35th minute of first half against Clare in munster final, goal after half time in same game which proved the difference. Lehane, Kingston, Meade can go missing for long stretches. The loss of Cadogan is incalculable to Corks All Ireland chances. It takes away a very obvious goal threat and a consistent point scorer.
limerick on the other hand have put in some very impressive performances and are posting big tallies while all the while being quite wasteful. while I would credit Eoin Murphy with an exceptional goal keeping performance 2 out of the 4 goal chances were just poor finishing with the other 2 could have been a bit better too. low and hard with a bounce in front of the keeper should be the order of the day. Apart from this Limerick now have scoring threats all over the team which is scary from an opposition perspective. Byrneâs, Hannon and O Donnovan can score from anywhere and the forwards have no problem winning primary possession taking in their man and taking scores. There is no heavy burden or responsibility on one player for scores instead its equal opportunity with plenty of attacking options in reserve. Limerick by 3 in this one.
3 Likes
Weâve a new hurling position ladies and gentlemen 
Then why did John Kiely drop Dowling?
My subtle question went over your head I see. You said that for all Flanaganâs running to the touch lines there is no end product. This is laughable. Firstly, look at the scores he got v Cork, most were from runs out to the corner from his 14 position. Look at Hegartys goal v Waterford, ball out to the corner for Flanagan to race out to, wins it and hits a beautiful pin point pass in to Hegarty = goal. You support my point by illustrating another example last Sunday of Flanagan racing out from inside to the corner and winning the ball and delivering an unreal crossfield pass to Hegarty who should have goaled again but for a fine save which ended as a point, another score.
Yet all the running is pointless with no end product?? FFS⌠youâd wonder what some lads are watching.
1 Like
Did you see the game on Sunday?
I rate Dowling a lot, always have done, but there is no way Iâd start him at full-forward. Or in the full-forward line at all.
I would consider playing Casey & Gillane together inside as Gillane & Flanagan did against Kilkenny, with Mul in the same role. But I do like what Flanagan offers, heâs class.
1 Like
We also hit Flanagan with long diagonal balls out of defense too on the 45. Thatâs why the fullback has to follow him out. He normally turns and lays them off to runners coming from deep. He set up two for Cian Lynch v cork and 2 v Kilkenny. The whole attack is built around him.
Thereâs no way Flanagan can be dropped. He is offering way too much to be taken out. Heâs athleticism and speed is too valuable. If he can add his own score to all his selfless running heâd be the finished article.
Iâve commented above that Casey shouldnât start as you shouldnât change something thatâs working. With the three starting inside and Casey to come on we know the formula works. Why would you change it. Youâd want your head examined
1 Like