a team that tries so hard to tell everyone how united they are must be hiding something or have some insecurities about their very unity.
As an aside, Eddie Brennan is carrying some timber.
Yeah, that wasnât quite fluent enough for this time of year. Shouldnât underestimate how well Waterford put it up to ye in the first half which explains some of the lethargy in the second.
Waterford were good alright, but a lot of our play was sloppy. Deliveries werenât good, too many wides, just not the smooth machine of the last few years. Only natural I suppose and I hope that today was just a matter of ironing out the kinks before the final but Tipp are still on an upward swing and unless we improve theyâll win the final easily.
Sheedy just explained the ability of Kilkenny to get goals by breaking the ball down and the forwards moving quickly onto it, and Cyril interrupts him to say âyeah, but as well as that Liam theyâre tipping the ball down and youâve the forwards coming onto very fastâ :lol:
Cyril explaining that Cody will be unhappy if they lose the final.
âespecially in gaa sport as there is no runner upâ :huh:
Kilkenny were fairly poor today. They must have had 15 + wides?
Waterford rattled them physically, thatâs why that happened. Itâs a pity Waterford couldnât sustain it but it would have been a bit much to expect.
Will Dublin put up a better fight to the cats than the blaas did today i wonderâŚ
[size=3][font=arial]What an underwhelming win that was.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]I hobbled over to Croke Park in the hope that Kilkenny would set down a marker in the pursuit of regaining the throne.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial][Hobbled because I made shit of my knee during the week. More on this later][/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]I left with a genuine concern that I had not felt before. It was a genuine concern that we may not be able to slay the Tipperary dragon.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Our style of play was frustrating to me. It was far too one dimensional. Paul Flynn was lauding our direct play. While it was that, it was all far too generic. Long straight ball after long straight ball. The main culprits were Tyrrell and Walsh, which is typical of Tyrrell but disappointing from Walsh. Shefflin when he gained ball around midfield hit a variety of a ball in. First time pull, no catch control and strike, low balls, high balls. No such variation from the defensive clearences.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]It was as if Kilkenny felt all they had to do was bomb ball down on the Waterford full back line and that they would gain scores from the inevitable breaks. While this was the case at times I feel Waterford dealt quite well with Kilkenny at times.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]I think John Henderson had the analysis of Kilkenny correct. There certainly is a large amount of room for improvement there. We had way too much poor shooting and even poorer decision making which is in complete contrast to how we played when winning 4 All Ireland in a row.[/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]Herity -8- Very steady. No real mistakes. Couldnât fail him for goal.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Murphy -7- On Mullane when he had 1-1. Excellent otherwise. One very bad pass.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Hickey -7- Quiet, which is good news at full back.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Tyrrell -7- A couple poor passes. One very bad hand pass. Aimless distribution. Otherwise decent[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Walsh -6- A couple poor passes. Aimless distribution. Solid defensively[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]B Hogan -7- I thought he was good but Mullane got 0-4 off him. Good point[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Delaney -6- Very good in parts. Moran ran by him in 2nd half and he just gave up. Hmmm. Distribution a bit aimless too.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]M Fennelly -7- Average game by his high standards. 0-3 scored. Seemed a bit leggy. Waterford on top in middle third. MOTM me bollox. Iâll take it. âŹ200. Sweet.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Reid -5- 2 wides. Foul after yellow meant he needed to be substituted.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Rice -7- Good hard worker. Took a big shoulder and a hurl broken off his ribs. Injury concern possibly. Wide and dropped a couple short. Good point.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Power -6- Aimless run early on. Good distribution. Crowded out at times. Will need to improve. 2 bad wides.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Larkin -6- His touch at times was poor. Couple of good points.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]C Fennelly -6- Just hit the ball into space for him. And you, Colin, run at goal. Straight at goal. 2 bad wides. Set up 2nd goal.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Shefflin -8- Kilkennyâs best player. Some sublime points. Also, dropped 2 short and had a wide. Bad touch at times.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]R Hogan -7- 2 Goals. A few steps for the first one. Good bravery for the second. 2 poor wides. Mixed day.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]P Hogan -6- 3 Shots. 2 wides. Needed to make a bigger impression.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]E Brennan -5- 3 Shots. 2 wides. Not so fast Eddie any more. Good point. We are short attacking options on bench.[/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]I have to say that the tactics that Waterford employed were baffling. While the strategy of employing an extra midfielder worked quite well and they did win a lot of ball around midfield as a result, they failed to convert this possession into scores. At half time they were six points down and needed to try and get back into the game. Instead of identifying the problem at hand they continued with the third midfielder. The real problem now was that it resulted in more of the same and Kilkenny were 10 points up and coasting. Continuing with the extra midfielder meant that Kilkenny had an extra defender which made getting a goal which would bring them back into the game even more difficult to score. Stephen Molumphy had a decent goal chance but skied it. Then came the real white flag of surrender. 56[sup]th[/sup] minute. 9 points down. 21 yard free, Shanahan point. While Waterford got it back to 5 points at one point, Kilkenny powered on in the final 10 minutes and the game descended into a bizarre game of tennis. Waterford at this point persisted in their extra midfielder. It seemed as though the extra Waterford midfielder and the extra Kilkenny defender were just hitting ball back and forth to each other for the final 10 minutes. During which, Kilkenny hit a number of poor wides and Waterford routinely had 10 players within their own 45.[/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]This all begs the question: Did Waterford ever have any intention of attempting to win the game? I have no doubt the players tried their best and fought hard until the final whistle but they were never set up tactically in a manner which would put them in a position to realistically get within a goal of Kilkenny. When you are 3 goals down why take off 2 of your biggest goal threats? [Shane Walsh and Eoin Kelly, from 21 yard frees][/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]Waterford did have a number of good performers. I thought Seamus Prendergast was good, as was Shane OâSullivan. They were killed with a number of bad wides that they hit. Shane Walsh, Kevin Moran and Eoin Kelly all hit bad wides. Pauric Mahony had one bad wide from a free. John Mullane was the clear MOTM. Liam Lawlor did well at fullback. Maybe if they kept faith in Lawlor from last year as their full back of the future and not going with a total rookie against Corbett they may not have received such an unmerciful beating.[/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]Speaking of mercy, it is something I felt Kilkenny played with today. Either that or they just donât have the ability to put Waterford away any more. Which is a sobering thought. They seemed to be happy enough to keep Waterford at armâs length rather than trying to kill the match off the way they would have done in the past. I have to hope that the direct ball tactics employed by Kilkenny were simply horses for courses and that after a year of ample thought on how to solve the Tipp puzzle, that hurl it high and fast into the full forward line is not the answer. It feels like a âIs there anything to be said for another mass?â type solution. We will need a concise game plan to combat Tipperaryâs forward moment and to cut off their supply line at source. It was there at times today but weâd need it for 70 minutes to have any chance. Not in fits and starts.[/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]A final rant on Barry Kelly. I have to say that I felt his refereeing was laughable at times.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]He failed to give obvious frees in scoring positions a number of times. The most glaring was when he missed TJ Reid being kicked. It was a clear free, Reid subsequently shot a wide. Kelly was badly positioned and missed it as a result.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]Waterfordâs first free was in fact a free out when Tyrrell had his legs swept by Eoin Kelly. TJ Reid got a yellow card for very little. Then he went in high on Mullane which actually should have been a second yellow. Kelly bottled that. Two wrongs do not make a right. Michael Fennelly and Richie Power also given yellow for very little. He also managed to get in the way of players a number of times today. Once when Michael Rice was shooting.[/font][/size]
[size=3][font=arial]He referees the game in the spirit of âA hurl broke, someone must be sent offâ. Itâs bordering on non-contact. He also has this awful habit of wanting to be the centre of attention. Heâll whistle for something and not give a signal for who the free is for. It reminds me of Enrico Polazzo. He then waits for everyone to look at him and gives the signal.[/font][/size]
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[size=3][font=arial]We can beat TippâŚbut we need to much much better than this.[/font][/size]
Tipp are going to get some fucking rattle next Sunday. Theyâll probably survive it because Dublin have so many injuries but it will be the first test of their physicality theyâll have had in a year. Drumcree Daly will be absolutely loving the build up to this
Big test for Declan Ryan as a manager.
What sort of players will the Dubs be missing, besides Keaney?
[quote=âThe Dunph, post: 592963â]
What sort of players will the Dubs be missing, besides Keaney?
[/quote]Gough Brady and Hiney for starters
Tipp are a match physically for anybody at the moment.
They are well able to mix it.
Do you really think Dublin with Keaney, Gough, Hiney and brady are a better team than Tipp?
Youâll eventually be right Fagan and tell us all you told us so, maybe not next Sunday thoughâŚ
I donât Mullach. Far from it. But I think theyâll rattle Tipp like fuck on Sunday[quote=âMullach Ide, post: 592965â]
Tipp are a match physically for anybody at the moment.
They are well able to mix it.
Do you really think Dublin with Keaney, Gough, Hiney and brady are a better team than Tipp?
Youâll eventually be right Fagan and tell us all you told us so, maybe not next Sunday thoughâŚ
[/quote]
Unfair Mullach. Hardly a better team than Tipp but Dublin clearly a better side with the aforementioned than without
Think you are being overly sensitive here, donât think he is saying that at all.
Its just Dublin will mix it better than Waterford did in Munster.
Fagan,
Youâre right that Dublin will be a more physical challenge than anything Tipp have seen this year, expecially in the way they effectively hunt in packs. But Tipp are basing everything they do on reaching what would be a very physically demanding final against Kilkenny, having weathered the storm against them last year and been beaten down by them the year before. Any physicality that Dublin bring to the game, and no question they will, should not be a problem for Tipp, who will ,Iâd expect, relish the fact that they get this kind of test in a semi. I donât think Dublin will give them some fucking rattle Fagan, Tipp will give it back to them in spades.
Mullach, Faganâs not saying Dublin are a better team, just that theyâll be a lot harder than anything Tipp have faced in the championship so far, which is probably correct.
A very bizarre thing happened to me once in Waterford when I was a student in the RTC there in about 1991. A little fella, couldnât have been more than 10, came up to me on the street one evening, produced a knife and told me to give him my wallet. Once I had stopped laughing hysterically I gave him a kick in the hole for his trouble and told him to fuck off. The more I think about it now, the more I think that little fella looked awfully like Eoin Kelly.