HS hurling team of the week
September 29, 2014
The hoganstand.com hurling team of the week. INPHO
The 2014 All-Ireland hurling championship belatedly reached its climax at Croke Park on Saturday evening and there were plenty of contenders for our team of the week.
1. Darren Gleeson (Tipperary): Edges Eoin Murphy for the goalkeeping spot on the basis of his excellent puck-outs and his crucial 37th minute save which denied Colin Fennelly. Looking good for his first All Star award.
2. Paul Murphy (Kilkenny): The army man was Kilkenny's best defender over the two games. Lar Corbett set up Tipp's first goal, but hardly got a look-in apart from that.
3. Padraic Maher (Tipperary): Not a great day for either full back, but Maher did come into the game after a sluggish start on Richie Hogan.
4. Jackie Tyrrell (Kilkenny): Kilkenny needed to keep John O'Dwyer quiet after his seven-point haul in the drawn game, and the experienced Tyrrell was the man to do just that, restricting 'Bubbles' to a pair of points from play on this occasion.
5. Padraig Walsh (Kilkenny): Tommy's younger brother justified his inclusion at the expense of Joey Holden with a superb display at wing back.
6. Kieran Joyce (Kilkenny): Like Walsh, Joyce came in to produce a marvellous performance that earned him the RTE Man of the Match award. But was Patrick 'Bonnar' Maher fully fit?
7. Kieran Bergin (Tipperary): Got on the ball a lot and was arguably Tipp's top performer. Mind you, Cillian Buckley wasn't half bad for the Cats either.
8. Conor Fogarty (Kilkenny): A son of former selector Martin, Fogarty worked tirelessly for the team. Was praised by Brian Cody afterwards for the huge amount of ground he covered.
9. Shane McGrath (Tipperary): Enjoyed a tremendous battle with Michael Fennelly, who had a very good game for the winners. But McGrath gets the nod for his three sublime first half points.
10. Colin Fennelly (Kilkenny): The younger Fennelly came good in the third quarter, albeit after moving to the full forward line. Hit the late point that sealed Kilkenny's success.
11. Patrick 'Bonnar' Maher (Tipperary): Neither 'Bonnar' nor Hurler of the Year contender Richie Hogan played up to their usual high standards, but the Tipp man never stopped trying, even when things were going against him.
12. Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny): The veteran scored points in either half and showed his defensive qualities towards the end.
13. Richie Power (Kilkenny): Put his early-season injury problems behind him to make a big contribution to Kilkenny's All-Ireland triumph. Scored his customary goal and added a point from a free.
14. Seamus Callanan (Tipperary): Another 2-5 for the championship's leading scorer. Could have had further goals in the 18th minute and from a 58th minute penalty.
15. John Power (Kilkenny): The third change to the Kilkenny team from the drawn encounter, the youngster made it a day to remember for the Power family by grabbing the winners' second goal.
