21 games unbeaten ?
Mentality monsters
A fine record. Cancelling ordinary.
Serious whinging though.
A few comments in the heat of the moment and weâve had nearly 12 hours of relentless âsome whingingâ from countless posters 
⌠Weâve had far more whinging about the whinging than the whinging itself 
Ah sure listen Iâm just looking on from the sidelines with the popcorn out here.
Brain Gavin with a whinge there.
Iâd say some pressure was put on Gavin from the big house after saying he would have sent off Gillane last week
Can you throw up the full article? I have reached my limit
Nicky English with a whinge here
"I felt sorry for GearĂłid Hegarty, who essentially got sent off for taking a lineball too quickly. I always encourage players to get on with it and move the ball as speedily as possible and I thought it was a very debatable decision.
I thought the standard of refereeing and officiating was poor in Cusack Park. Colm Lyons also in my view played too little injury time. Three minutes to me was well short given the time it took to sort out the red card incident and the substitutions.
Hegarty can be loose with the hurley and that should be addressed, but Iâd question the sending-off.â
Open in private browsing
Nicky doesnât whinge. He just laughs at the banjo boys
Brian Gavin: The pressure told on James Owens and Colm Lyons
Sell-out crowds in Cusack and Walsh Park sure put pressure on Colm Lyons and James Owens and unfortunately it was evident in their performances
15 May 2022; GearĂłid Hegarty of Limerick receives a red card, second yellow, from referee Colm Lyons during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 4 match between Clare and Limerick at Cusack Park in Ennis, Clare. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
SUN, 15 MAY, 2022 - 22:00
BRIAN GAVIN
Two tight, claustrophobic venues in the Munster championship yesterday and boy did the referees feel those supporters.
Those sell-out crowds in Cusack and Walsh Park sure put pressure on Colm Lyons and James Owens and unfortunately it was evident in their performances.
Before the critiques, I must stress how tough those games were to referee. Iâve mentioned it before but I would hate to be officiating hurling now. Trying to distinguish who is doing what in a mountain of bodies, if a swarm tackle is fair, is the man in possession overcarrying and is it he or the defender fouling. Itâs nightmarish at times.
In saying all that, Lyons and Owens canât be happy with their afternoonâs work. Colm should not have sent off GearĂłid Hegarty. The first booking wasnât close to being a yellow card. If a player doesnât go back the required distance, itâs a free and thatâs the end of that. With the second one, he went back slightly with the hurl but it wasnât a clearcut yellow and Limerick have genuine reasons to be aggrieved by his sending off.
I mentioned last week that Limerick were lucky to finish the game against Tipperary with 15 men. Well, their fortune ran out in Ennis. I wrote that I would have sent off Aaron Gillane. Plenty of people disagreed with me, saying that there wasnât intent but I maintain he knew what he was doing.
After Hegarty was sent off against Galway earlier this year, DĂłnal Ăg Cusack highlighted the forward didnât do himself any favours and I would have agreed with him. Limerick, not just Hegarty, are guilty of doing things they donât need to. Play on the edge by all means but too much of it is unnecessary.
Credit to them, they salvaged a draw despite losing Hegarty but will they be as fortunate in a Munster final or in June and July when they should be featuring in Croke Park?
As James did in Waterford, Colm started poorly in Ennis and two obvious frees were ignored for David McInerney and Kyle Hayes. He was then trying to play catch-up, which never does a referee any good. For a couple of yellow card decisions for off-the-ball incidents, he was right and McInerney was correctly booked for a loose hurl across the helmet.
However, SeĂĄn Finn was clearly fouled and received no free before Clare got an equaliser. David Reidy had his shorts pulled by a Clare defender and there was no free in. John Conlon caught Declan Hannon with an elbow for the final score but it was a cynical act that deserved a card.
I highlighted this subject last week but it does appear Limerick are getting messages out to players and backroom team members around the field through their physio, who is miked up. The lack of a maor foirne is driving managements crazy and it will have to be addressed.
In Walsh Park, James opened with a few soft frees for Cork, which got the home support on his back. A Cork score that hit the post and went in was waved wide by an umpire. Kieran Kingston was booked close to the end of the game but was informed that he didnât have to go to the stand having moved there for a few minutes. I wonder if anyone is passing on the message from Croke Park that a manager being booked doesnât mean a whole lot and they can stay where they are.
Austin Gleesonâs first yellow card was justified but Iâm not sure about the second one, which I would imagine Waterford will contest if they have to. Gleeson, like one or two more of the best players, was really targeted.
There were some good calls such as Robbie OâFlynnâs for a bad shoulder tackle and Rob Downey, who is always playing on the edge it seems. Shane Bennett was also issued with one late on for a trip on Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins.
On Saturday, Thomas Walsh attempted to let the Dublin-Kilkenny game flow while dishing out necessary cards. Dublin felt they deserved a free before Martin Keoghanâs goal for Kilkenny but I thought the call was correct and Thomas provided great advantage for TJ Reidâs goal. Thomas can be happy with where he is going.
DONT EVER FUCKING BACK DOWN!!!
Anyone But Limericks (ABLs) are in full flow and the round robin hasnt wrapped up yet. Meltdowns already. This format is working a charm
Watching the first half back here. Being in the town end stand I hadnât realised just how much Rory Hayes dominated Flanagan in the first half, that jink which sent him for a hotdog on his own endline before finding David Fitz 80 yards up the field for a point was sublime.
David Mc more than held his own with Hegarty in the first half as well but will be really disappointed with the goal, he simply stopped and let Boylan a free run and a heavy touch gifted one to Hegarty as well but he got on plenty of ball and spoiled plenty on Hegarty too.
Neither of the Morrisseyâs have yet to really fire for Limerick this championship so far, Tom especially. He looks a bit off the level he was at the last 4 years.
That was a fine bit of defending from Nash to intercept the Duggan to Kelly handpass too, was a certain goal otherwise.
Hayes decent defender but it is Flanaganâs first start in months. Limerick forwards were poor but it was a game dominated by defends in the main. McInerney got fucking cleaned by Hegarty, he has five possessions four points and a free, any time he had ball he scored.
The thing about Tom Morrissey is even when heâs playing poor his work rate is still sensational.
He always blew hot and cold for Limerick. Some days the radar is on and he really catches fire.
He is not going well though, I think a root up the hole may be needed. OâNeill is likely to be a bigger scorer in time and has a great paw on him. Limerick are a different team when Lynch plays bring back OâDonovan, Gillane and Casey and it is a different prospect.
Different yard sticks. Clare coming from a low place, Limerick from high. Clare matched Limerick all day physically which Lohan will be delighted with.
Flanagan looks rusty as fuck. Kyle just isnât an inside forward - got stuck in and broke up a bit of play but it wasnât sticking and he had a couple of wides that youâd expect him to score. He needs to be brought out the field.
Lynch wonât be involved but Gillane and DOD will make a huge difference next day.