Agree with lyinginaheap. Murphy's are very light up front but were also light against a strong Emmetts backline and won. To be honest I think Gabriels are lighter up front than the Murphy's. Howlin would probably be delighted to see their former hurlers line out against them. I'm not so sure about Finn though. I don't think there is a natural hurler in London that will stop Finn. I seem to remember in last years championship Finn ran riot in the first 15 mins against the Murphy's Howlin was moved in and Finn got 0-1 the whole game off him (minus frees obviously). I think the way to stop Finn is be awkward and tough, drag and hassle. Howlin's the man for that. It'll also free up Murphy's stronger hurling backs. My towny is the best mid-fielder in London although anyone at home will tell you he hurls magnificant when the goings great (we're obviosuly from rival clubs) but he has a touch of class. Will Corridan have any say, seems to dis favour Murphy's lately if you believe the Ruislip rumours?

MoTeaue (Offaly) - Posts: 68 - 18/09/2009 11:55:32    429697

moteaue, if you think Hoctor is the best midfielder in london,you dont see a lot of hurling,Mark Mythen,stephen fox,kevin downes are way better then him,no question about that!!!! Murphys will bate Gabriels with stephen fox to take the sting out of finn,cork man V cork man,fox to hold him comfortably, up the yellabellies.

illbustya (Leitrim) - Posts: 76 - 18/09/2009 14:48:38    429870

Well lads i have to say i was desperately disappointed by the Murphys performance at the weekend. Their forwards looked completely stuck to the ground, as if they had never hurled with each other before. Stephen Fox was the only county representative from the Murphys to produce any where near his best and even then he was restricted to a full back line role for most of the game. Having said all that the Gabriels have a fair old line out. Gannon has been London's number 1 all year, Cody, tierney and fitzsimmons are solid at the back and Colm burke showed he can be a handy forward aswell with a couple of great points. Add to that Londons top scorer for the last few years in Martin Finn and these guys have a serious outfit. if ever they are going to win the championship surely this is the time! What is the verdict of the Kilburn v Emmetts game for next week?? No Fergus Mcmahon and McMullan for Emmetts probably just gives the Kilburn the edge imo if Henry vaughan can get going it could be a long day for the Emmetts goalkeeper!

Scrapheap (UK) - Posts: 97 - 21/09/2009 12:26:08    431804

Jaysus, how smug am I. My prediction was 110% right. I should start charging for this insight. My county man had a blinder. Two Murphy's men could have had an early bath. The ref gave Gabriels the majority of the decisions.
Hoctor was fantastic, O'Meara done a job and Burke was sharp. Murphy's had no mid-field, forwards were useless but the backs were strong holding the Gabriels to 1-5 from play... that should not be enough to win a semi. Finn was quiet with 0-2 from play so his marker(s) had a very good game, think it was young Howlin or Waters... Fox was solid those were Murphy's 3 best, cleared their lines well.
Gabriels as a unit looked fitter and more together.
I hope not too much sense was knocked out of the Murphy's corner forward, Luke was it? He got an awful gash in the first minute from the advert boards, why in the name of Jaysus are they so close to the pitch and why are the ones not in use still up? A hazard if ever there was one.
Gabriels and Emmetts final.

MoTeaue (Offaly) - Posts: 68 - 21/09/2009 16:29:31    432154

Was shocked at how bad the Murphys really were!!!They were complete rubbish other than Stephen Fox. Yet, if their full forward could have hit the frees over and was able to actually hit the ball when he caught it off the gabriels full back it would have been a different story,maybe.From what ive seen im pretty sure the Kilburn or Emmetts would beat the Gabriels. One last thing,does anyone remember the murphys lad that banged his head off the wire fence in the first 10 mins and played the rest of the game with a big bandage,well i saw him on a flight to dublin that evening after the game,mmmmmhhhhh,funny that!!!

stranded (UK) - Posts: 408 - 21/09/2009 20:14:52    432419

Would say there were one or two other than Fox, you're obviously a fan or a partner of the man. How in the name of jaysus was that man fit to fly with a wound like that? According to reports from the registry man its the most legal team Murphy's have ever fielded? Photo i.d and passport copies for all involved on Saturday. Don't worry stranded we're good men for the homework :)

MoTeaue (Offaly) - Posts: 68 - 21/09/2009 21:22:13    432513

That was money well spent anyway, split after 30 seconds and didn't hit a ball for the whole game. Murphy's were shocking, felt sorry for Fox and their centre back, only two that stood out. Gabriel's didn't overly impress me either though, back did well but against what? My firm belief would be that the Emmett's could match them, from what I've seen of them this year they look to have a strong full back, probably best in London, 3 solid half backs 2 good midfielders in John Mac and Kevin Downes and a good half forward line. Gabriels are similar in those positions, but all over the field Emmett's probably have the nicest hurlers to watch over here. The word is though, there not training well and the Kilburn are doing a lot, so maybe fitness could catch them out.
Even without 3 of their best players McMullen (suspended), Quinn (injured) and Fergus McMahon (injured), I'd be confident that the Emmett's could win it out, just aswel they don't have a full team or nobody would touch them.

Buster66 (UK) - Posts: 119 - 22/09/2009 14:15:15    433156

I was at the Murphys/Gabrials game the weekend, & thought that the Murphy forwards were very poor, the only plus was Fox's performance. As far as the club championship goes i think Gabrials have the quality to win this championship with the players they have dispite having been carrying a few players all season & this was evident yet again on Sat. Finn wasn't his usual bussling self but was still extremely accurate as always & i think this is the man how could bring a first championship to the club in a decade. In the other semi-final, i think Emmets aren't as strong as they have been for the last few years while Kilburn will have to be at ther best to get past Emmets. Gabrials have too many London players this year & with Gabrials in good stead. Gabrial/Emmets final with Gabrials edging it.

Joeyduffer (UK) - Posts: 1 - 22/09/2009 22:09:49    433749

As it's late in the evening I'm goin to say Emmetts by 10, Kilburn are far too confident

Buster66 (UK) - Posts: 119 - 27/09/2009 00:11:30    437480

Was at the hurling semi final today between Emmetts and Kilburn,jaysus twas a quare tough game lads, Emmetts experience and the fact that they had a couple of better hurlers able to get vital scores in the last 10 mins when it was up for grabs at 1.9 a piece was the deciding factor,fair play to kilburn they gave it their best shot but the Emmetts are a tough team to beat and they missing Mcmahon and Mcmullan as well. It will be a good final although i would definately have rated the kilburn better than the Gabriels and on that call im going to have to say that the Emmetts will snake it i think. That said i do think the emmetts were not at their best today but, would give a bit of credit to the kilburn for that today.

illbustya (Leitrim) - Posts: 76 - 27/09/2009 20:47:46    437936

Just a question for someone who might know, how many times now have emmetts been in the final,it seems like they have been in the last 4 or 5, does anyone know!!!!!

illbustya (Leitrim) - Posts: 76 - 27/09/2009 20:49:46    437939

Saw the game alright, looked fairly even, Kilburn possible the fitter team but Emmetts just about had the better hurlers, as the final score suggests both sets of forwards were very quiet, don't think there were really and outstanding performances just 30 players battling hard all over the field. At least it wasn't a mismatch like the other semi, should be a good final, Emmetts haven't hurled yet this year and here they are in another final, that game might stand to them better in the final than Gabriel's game.

Buster66 (UK) - Posts: 119 - 28/09/2009 08:08:41    438219

At best the quality of both finals is junior hurling, lets hope the final will create a bit more class.

MoTeaue (Offaly) - Posts: 68 - 28/09/2009 12:31:05    438477

I agree, Both sets of backs were on top yesterday though, never really allowed the forwards to hurl on either side, I think the final will be more open

Buster66 (UK) - Posts: 119 - 28/09/2009 14:56:55    438675

we have bee n in the last 6 finals.

WaWa29 (Antrim) - Posts: 22 - 28/09/2009 16:11:39    438769

I was at the semi final between kilburn and emmetts , and to say that both sets of backs were on top is a joke! Kilburn had more than enough chances to put emmets away but lacked the vital edge when it came to putting the ball over the bar. On the other hand emmets spent half the amount of time in they re opponents half but punished kilburn when they got the chance. Realistically Gabriels will have better finishers on the big day than kilburn and emmets would want to sort things out in theyre backs as such. Also as such when it comes to predicting the outcome of the final im going for emmets purely because they have the experience and have done it all before , gabriels can be very hot and cold . In conclusion as such ,I noticed the standard of reffereeing wasnt as atrocous as it normally is and hopefully that will continue for the final the ref was on song on sunday !

cyrilfarrell82 (Galway) - Posts: 3 - 29/09/2009 18:45:01    440136

cyrilfarrell82 How can you say the ref was "on song". In my opinion the ref was shocking at times, blatant frees on both sides weren't given and the game lacked any sort of flow because the whistle was stuck in his mouth blowing frees when he could of let it run. I don't know what games you normally watch but to say that the backs weren't on top in a game that finished 2-10 to 1-09 is amazing. Half the points on both sides came from frees. I don't think there was an easy point scored from play, Quinn came on and did well for Emmett's and Vaughan fielded a lot of ball but didn't do anything with it as he was put under too much pressure, he probably should of stayed close to the goal he was going out to far looking for ball. The reason shots weren't going over on both sides was because they weren't given the time to look up and shoot. I wouldn't pick Emmett's on experience either about 10 of that team are new to the side this year so I think the better hurling team will win, it'll be tight. Kilburn missed a few handy frees that Finn won't miss so if Emmett's can stay disciplined they might just do it.

Buster66 (UK) - Posts: 119 - 30/09/2009 08:30:21    440612

Missed the Emmetts v Kilburn match at the weekend lads, have heard a number of contrasting reports about what could/should have happened. Just wondering what individulas stood out for both sides? The only name really mentioned in the paper this week was Sean Quinn and he only came on for the last ten minutes! Any of the London county players any good? Thought Finn and Burke were very good for gabriels the previous week

Scrapheap (UK) - Posts: 97 - 30/09/2009 23:19:20    441581

Thought Niall Healy and Downes played well, as did Vaughan in the second half.

scruff (UK) - Posts: 467 - 01/10/2009 13:39:42    441937

Scrapheap their were a few good players n it was 1 off the best games this year could have went either way but the fact is the emmetts r in 2 another final that's 6 years in a row with 4 wins 1 defeat.

WaWa29 (Antrim) - Posts: 22 - 02/10/2009 19:27:05    443356