Same keeper
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Fair play to Waterford. I think that will make the Championship even tighter than last year. Deserved the win for sure.
I’ve been a very vocal fan of Jack Prendergast over the last 4-5 years, I thought he was unbelievable today. I think he is the most underrated hurler in the country by a distance. I would love if he was from Limerick.
Thought in general, a lot of Waterford players really stood up. Jamie Barron looked back to his best, Mongtomery worked really hard. Calum Lyons in full flow is a joy to watch. I thought Mikey Kiely made a huge impact aswell. Dessie probably has a little more in him, but that’s no bad thing either, Dessie is a fine player.
Having said all that, I did think Cork were a little unlucky with some of the ref calls. I thought the ref had a good game in general, tbf to him. But the ball was clearly dislodged before Joyce made contact, so it couldn’t have been a goalscoring opportunity. Now, I didn’t see that in real time so maybe the ref didn’t either.
On Cahalane’s one, the second yellow was soft and I think there’s no way that’s given if Fitzgerald doesn’t make a meal of it. But, at the same time, he did miss the ball and there was contact. You try not to give the ref to chance to make those decisions when you’re on a yellow. And Cahalane has form for that, his decision-making when on a yellow isn’t great.
For Cork, while they got back level a few times, they never went ahead. They never seemed to bring the same intensity as Waterford but they do have some nice shooters and have a bit of pace. Barrett stepped up, his best performance in a Cork jersey. Connolly’s goal was very good (although the Waterford backs will be wondering how he can bounce the ball in a tight space and get away with it).
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Brian Gavin: Gillane goal and Cahalane red were wrong calls
If only there was an avenue to check such incidents. An official with access to replays would have only needed 15 seconds
Munster GAA Senior Hurling Championship Round 1, Walsh Park, Co. Waterford 21/4/2024
SUN, 21 APR, 2024 - 20:49
BRIAN GAVIN
For the third time in as many years, Colm Lyons was entrusted with overseeing Clare and Limerick in a Munster round game.
It was never a game that was going to pass without incident and so it transpired with the awarding of Limerick’s third goal. There was no doubt it should have been ruled out as Aaron Gillane was in the square when Gearóid Hegarty struck for goal.
To be fair to Lyons, he had a good chat with his umpires before awarding it. You could tell he wasn’t 100% about it by his and his team’s body language, but they were wrong and it was a major turning point in the game.
If only there was an avenue to check such incidents. A referee or official with access to replays would have been able to confirm after 15 or 20 seconds that the goal should have been ruled out.
There was also a suspicion of a square ball for Diarmaid Byrnes’ earlier goal, Gillane again lurking, but that would have been a harsh call, as it wasn’t clear that he was in the small parallelogram.
Nobody could have blamed Lyons if he sent off Gillane and Conor Cleary as well as Seamus Flanagan and Adam Hogan. The carry-on between both pairs was incessant, they were all booked well before the end and were fortunate with those punishments.
If Clare had reason to be upset about the Gillane goal, Limerick could cry that Hegarty didn’t pick up a few more frees. Outside of that and maybe the Kyle Hayes helmet issue, Lyons coped with a difficult assignment.
The relatively inexperienced Michael Kennedy was put in charge of the Waterford-Clare game and unlike Lyons laid down the law early, which helped. He was assertive up to the black card for Ciarán Joyce in the 50th minute. He didn’t seem certain, spoke to his linesman Liam Gordon, and then punished the Cork centre-back while giving the penalty when he could have got away with a free-in and a yellow.
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Limerick’s Aaron Gillane celebrates scoring his side’s third goal during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 1 match between Clare and Limerick at Cusack Park in Ennis, Clare. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
If that was a borderline call, Kennedy’s second yellow card for Damien Cahalane was not. It was wrong and he shouldn’t have seen the line for an innocuous foul. The sound of Cahalane’s hurley making contact with Patrick Fitzgerald probably made it appear worse.
Kennedy was right with several yellows, such as those issued to Tommy O’Connell, Dessie Hutchinson, Seán Twomey and Calum Lyons. He’s a referee with clear potential and this will bring him on.
Saturday’s Ulster quarter-final raised an issue which we could see more of over the coming months. Donegal goalkeeper Shane Patton required medical attention, and as per the new rule he had to go off. He tried to take his sweet time by going behind the goal but was directed to the sideline by David Gough and could only return at the next break in play.
So Donegal were down to 14 men and Daire Ó Baoill seemed like he was going to take the kick but was beckoning Patton to come back onto the field for it. Donegal were penalised by Gough for taking too much time and a throw ball was given on the 20-metre line when it seemed yet another Donegal player went into the goals.
This rule is going to cause all sorts of confusion. Who exactly has the goalkeeper privileges in that situation? By that, I mean the “designated” goalkeeper is permitted to pick the ball up off the ground in the small rectangle but if nobody knows who he is then it will lead to mass confusion. It would make a lot of sense for the temporary goalkeeper to wear a bib.
In relation to helmets being taken off, this anomaly was raised by the Central Competitions Control Committee earlier this month but their proposal to amend it for goalkeepers was rejected. Let’s hope there isn’t a high-profile case of “told you so” later in the championship.
Otherwise, Gough had a good game. Ironically, he may have been too far ahead of the play when he awarded Donegal their penalty. Had he been a few yards behind, he would have had a better view of Chrissy McKaigue’s foul on Shane O’Donnell as it appeared to occur outside the parallelogram.
Finally, the new referees’ committee appears to have hit the ground running. The word is the fitness tests for the championship weren’t administered overly strictly and there is a good vibe about the place. After a difficult spring, it was needed.
Gavin can fuck off with video bolloxology.
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These things even themselves out over a season.
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The Limerick ones were both tough calls. He had a foot just in for his second goal… Very tough in real time… You’d be 5 minutes trying to find definitive evidence of it ffs. The first might have been easier to call in fairness but there was also a hint of poor wee Aaron being dragged into the square by that big bad Clearly…video evidence in the GAA would be comical. I’d love to here the audio as they’re working through it… Arra fuck it, this bastard thing is all over the place, give the goal
Donal Og is right tho… Why didn’t Clearly just bat it away and why was Hegarty standing on his own in so much space? A complete collapse on that front.
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It would be wonderful if they banned analysis of refereeing decisions.
It’s absolutely painful and boring. They make mistakes so do the players.
Derrick lynch calling for var on twitter. We can’t keep get hawk eye to work.
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He’ll be looking to bin it next week if Clare get a dodgy decision. An awful stones.
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One thing I’d like to see discussed on here is Cleary v gillane. Both are constantly fouling each other. Flanagan and his man too.
Eventually the ref books both of them but that’s a huge win for a forward to have his man on a yellow because if he turns him it’s a red card.
Imo it’s leading to a lot of defending in numbers nowadays.
I’m not sure what can be done but the forward is also certainly encouraged to pull and drag his man and hope he does it in return.
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That’s a lie anyway. See VAR in the UK
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It’s just leading to even more mistakes.
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Aaron is no angel but Cleary is one of the worst out there for hanging out of attackers. He nearly always gets a yellow but lives to tell the tale… I’d say Gillane is a pain in the hole to deal with tho.
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Farily sure Mark Sheedy was Clare minor goalie in both 2022 and 2023
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VAR has absolutely ruined football and it would destroy Gaelic games were it ever introduced. Have it for whether a ball goes over the line for a goal or not but otherwise leave it off.
Like, in a fast physical game like hurling which feeds off momentum and fast paced play you could have 5 fouls in a ruck among players. Accept the human errors from refs and leave it as is.
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Imagine Seamie Darby’s goal being looked at by VAR. the ref over looking at a monitor pitch side for five mins.
Some cunt up in the tv booth in the ear of the ref - ‘There is sufficient contact to award the free out.’
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For square balls in hurling, trying to find the frame where the ball actually enters the square and trying to capture the forward in the same frame would take fucking ages.
I didn’t watch the Sunday Game last night and maybe they determined it for certain but from the last still I saw, it was very very close for the third goal.
And almost impossible to judge in real time; the spirit of the rule is to stop fellas standing on top of the goalkeeper. In general, how the fuck do you judge it, you’d need eyes looking in two different directions half the time.
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Jackie and Donal both said it took them about 20 mins to find a definite angle that showed he had one foot in …
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Coventry got rammed yesterday because of VAR, although I think there might be a replay in the offing there.
Wasnt he bleating on about ‘trial by video’ when the Sunday game showed some incidents back but that was against Clare so doesnt count probably!