I qualified that at the time. But who gives a shit, I’m very happy to be wrong and happy to hold my hand up any time I am. If you want to add another one I also said that Nash looked too uncomfortable at corner back and I couldn’t see him make a corner back and leave him at wing. And look at them, two of the greatest hurlers of modern times who have revolutionised their position.
I’m lost for words for Hegarty yesterday. I think it was the single greatest all Ireland performance of all time.
Put us up on his back and carried us through our rough patches.
I have to say Kilkenny are magnificent. Their attitue and doggedness are a tribute to Cody.
Roy couldn’t have thought much of it as a match if he describes it as Lilliput.
The Richie Reid wide where TJ passed it back to him was a huge blow for Kilkenny.
One of the great energy sucking wides of our time.
This is a genre Mayo specialise in.
I think Cody will be taking the knife to that half back line in due course.
I don’t know but Limerick beat what is commonly considered to be a moderate Kilkenny team by 2 points. They may well have been 10 points a better team on the day but the reality is that they were there to be suckered at the end and a Kilkenny team with a bit more composure would have tried to work a goal and two out of the three times that Kilkenny tried to work a goal on the day they succeeded. I thought Limerick were fantastic from 5-12 yesterday but outside of that they were in bother and they were rattled at the back. I was surprised that TJ didn’t try for a goal with the couple of the frees he had in the centre on the 21.
thelimericks (cc @gilgamboa) are rightfully revelling in their achievements and coming through a close game adds to the aura and legacy.
But I do agree with the point that a genuine classic match needs to ebb and flow more, with the lead changing hands on multiple occasions.
I always had the sense that Limerick had another gear and Kilkenny were grimly clinging onto them. As a neutral, I would have liked to have seen what would have transpired had Kilkenny gotten the lead score after either time they drew level. Obviously it’s a sign of Limerick’s quality that they responded and pushed back in front.
In Crucible final terms, as is my won’t (cc @Cheasty, @mickee321), it was a 5-3 first session for Limerick after being 4-1 up, 9-7 at the end of day 1 (do they play 16 frames on the first day?), 13-12 after the first session of the second day after being 12-9 up (I think they only play 7 frames on the second afternoon) and ultimately an 18-16 victory after the scores were tied at 14-14 and 15-15. Pundits would have been saying it’s actually remarkable that it’s level so late on given the balance of play but Limerick were never behind and those 5 points in a row after Hogan equalised were the mark of champions alright.
EDIT: A lot of Limerick frames were won in the veritable “one visit” whereas Kilkenny took most of the close, scrappy frames. A very important edit here.
Agreed on this. I thought Mike Casey was the best of the Limerick full back line yesterday. I’d need to watch it back again, which I have no intention of doing, but I thought Sean Finn was shaky and Kilkenny got some joy out of him. TJ Reid also won a lot of ball when he was floating around from a starting position in the other corner.
I do enjoy when lads talk about targeting Casey with high ball.
*want
Munster Ref Sure…
I think this Kilkenny team are only moderate compared to their great teams. I think this is quite a talented Kilkenny team, who maybe didn’t get enough out of some of their important players yesterday. Having said that, it was a first All-Ireland final start for Tommy Walsh, Mikey Butler, Mikey Carey, Richie Reid, Cian Kenny, Eoin Cody, Billy Ryan, Mossy Keoghan. Against an incredibly experienced Limerick team, it’s not totally surprising that some of them didn’t fire to the absolute best of their abilities.
I thought our full-back line were excellent to be honest, I don’t think Kilkenny had any real threat inside. I felt where Kilkenny had most joy was Reid roaming in behind the lines, exploiting our zonal defence, rather than individual errors. Similarly, they got a bit of joy in the space outside Hannon as he sat in where our midfield or half-forward line probably needed to drop into. Deegan got a couple of scores from that position, so did Richie Reid & Cian Kenny, I think.
Did Eoin Cody play too deep & could they have got more joy by trying to isolate him inside? Possibly imo.
The sun shone on us yesterday and continues to shine today.
An excellent game against an excellent team. I won’t hear a word of criticism of either side. They went out in a scorcher and emptied themselves. We have no real rivalry with Kilkenny but I always respected them as the best hurling county I have ever seen. They were a credit again yesterday, on the field and in the stands.
The Sunday game hacks seem obsessed with statistics. Fuck 'em - that was a proper game of ball.
I’ve now joined my late father in seeing us beat the best in an All-Ireland final. I’ll return my sword to the scabbard now and take a step back for a while. God bless ye.
*Wont
It was a great score but Blanchfield taking the point with a minute to go was a ludicrous decision
Was she a Limerick GAA supporting female? Sounds like a great coup. You get a great quality of female spectator at the big games in Croker.
That’s a typo, I meant to post “wont”. I thought it was wont. Is wont not a word?
Ludicrous. Real rush of adrenaline stuff.