I wasn't going to mention the ref at all after this game but after reading some of the comments by Limerick and predictably Tipp/Cork posters on here I have to. How Limerick could have complaints about the ref after that game is beyond me.

O'Grady incidents aside Kilkenny could not buy a free for long periods of the game whereas Limerick found them a lot easier to come by ( Hickey throwing his hands in the air to 'earn' a free under the Cusack in the secnd half for example). It's fair to say that I'm in the 'let the game flow camp' but the ref has to be fair in doing so. How many times were Kilkenny players fouled where he gave an advantage where there clearly was none.

The most infruiating example was when with less than two minutes on the clock, Kilkenny two points ahead and Limerick on the attack on the Kilkenny half forward line, Tyrrell gathers the ball is blantantly fouled causing him to lose the ball and McGrath puts the whistle to his mouth and then inexplicably doesn't blow it, allowing Limerick to collect the ball and attack the Kilkenny goal. This bizarre referring at such a critical stage of the match lead to fury in the Cusack stand where I was located.

While I thought Hickey was excellent I thought he got away with a lot of holding on TJ Reid, holding the hurl etc. you know the stuff that only Kilkenny do apparantly. Paul Murphy being tripped causing the ball to fall out of his hand over the sideline was another one, and Richie Power took a lot of punishment under the Hogan stand that went unpunished.

Kilkenny gave as good as they got too, I'm not claiming otherwise. I wouldn't mention any of this only for the bizarre claims that the referee sided with Kilkenny. Anyone with a any sense of rationality could see that's a fallacy

In response to 'disillusiondfan', there were two incidents were there was deliberate striking of the a player with hurl, an offence which by the letter of the law is a red card. Both were carried out by a Limerick player. The fact that the sum of those incidents resulted in a single yellow is farcical. One could only imagine the public outcry if the second incident happened at the other end

There were two incidents where a face guard was caught, one by a KK player, one by a Limerick player and I would say both were not intentional. By intentional here I mean, while there's little doubt JJ intended to drag back Dowling I don't think he intended to do so by grabbing the face guard and likewise when Condon dragged Larkin to the ground by the face guard under the Hogan stand I don't think he intended to do so by the face guard. Under the new rules both could have got the line but in my opinion would have been very harsh

To state that the JJ/Dowling incident balanced things out is laughable to be honest

Heftydickonem (Kilkenny) - Posts: 175 - 11/08/2014 12:17:41    1634858

Hefty DOG foul on Holden was mind numbingly stupid and a def yellow card but I have never seen a player sent off for challenge like that. Never His second foul was a yellow n he shoulda gone.

There was another strike with the hurl which u seem to forget. from Henry into Gavin's ribs. we have seen bugler sent off for that already this year. Henry knew for sure he would get away with it though.

I wouldn't be one for nit picking frees cos I think things even out mostly. But if I'm an umpire ( n I have been at club games) if a ball drops between a forward and a back I can see if either is holding a hurl from 10 yards. It is an AI semi after all not a junior B game in ar** hole of no where. Now I have given 4 instances of where goal decisions went against us in 4 games. That's a lot maybe we will get bit more " rub of green " from officials next year now that we have some new found respect.

disillusiondfan (Limerick) - Posts: 4279 - 11/08/2014 12:37:24    1634874

My question when are Limerick going to win this elusive All-Ireland? Is this the team to do it? Not sure Limierk have been here before.
They look like they have all the players right across the field, no real weak points but they still cannot take that final step.

Nick (Wexford) - Posts: 1100 - 11/08/2014 12:43:30    1634880

11/08/2014 12:43:30
Nick
County: Wexford
Posts: 1045

1634880
My question when are Limerick going to win this elusive All-Ireland? Is this the team to do it? Not sure Limierk have been here before.
They look like they have all the players right across the field, no real weak points but they still cannot take that final step.



We have two young players called Ronan Lynch and Cian Lynch who i think will make the difference. Two of the best young hurlers i have seen us produce. Big statement but they are that good. Oh and we have another 5/6 from that team also!!

We will be okay kiddo.

Hoover78 (Limerick) - Posts: 865 - 11/08/2014 12:51:27    1634889

11/08/2014 12:16:09
arock
County: Dublin
Posts: 2261

1634856
I have to say Hickey being emotional receiving the MOTM on Sunday game was very moving. You could see and feel his hurt, what a guy, no one could ever doubt the effort a game like that requires. He's a real hero.

My girlfriend was crying while watching it for the second time last night as i did not get home till nearly eleven. it was very hard to watch and our search for an All Ireland is almost manic at this stage which is not good. We need a wee bit more composure and it will come.

Hoover78 (Limerick) - Posts: 865 - 11/08/2014 12:53:16    1634890

Great game of hurling, very sporting , hard hitting , terrible conditions and Kilkenny just hold out to reach another All Ireland final. I was glad Limerick went man to man and didn't play a sweeper against Kilkenny the way other teams have and it didn't work . I really like this Limerick team and I have no doubt if they stick together they will be a force in a year or two. Kilkenny were off the pace for stages of the game and a game like they got against Limerick will stand to them come final day. Cody was slow at making changes , Lester Ryan, Walter Walsh, Power, Tommy Walsh , Aidan Fogarty , Henry , are some subs to be able to bring on .

ke40 (Kildare) - Posts: 214 - 11/08/2014 13:07:14    1634907

What is the point in having rules at all if the referees are too scared to apply them? Its just nonsense.

Michael Duignan gets fierce animated when limerick did something wrong but he wasn't half as quick to have a go at KK. I hate his commentary (would have listed to commentary on newstalk only it was outta sink with the TV!)

Who benefited from the rain the most yesterday? I though Limk seemed to handle it slightly better. The most impressive thing about Limk yesterday was the period just after half time.

KK seemed to win the game from a 5 minute period b4 half time and another 5 minute period in the second half when they scored around 2 -4 in total.

I thought Limk panicked a bit in the last 10 minutes, they needed to be a little cooler and pick KK off.

FrackTheTurf (Galway) - Posts: 171 - 11/08/2014 13:30:21    1634927

HURLING REVIEW BOARD:
Suggest an exiting comitte or committee to be formed come introduce an automatic 10 minute sin bin "manly entry to the game" as witmessed yesterday. These scenes occur mainly when a player comes on, generally as an impact sub and rather than being "manly" it is a bad advertisement for the great game we endeavor to promote.


HENRY SHEFLIN :

Have always admired Henry's skill, class and sportsmanship... UNTIL YESRERDAY'S INTRO TO GOM.
Have always and still maintain he is the greatest hurler in a different era and set of circumstances to Ring, Mackey,Doyle.
Now suggest that his scriptwriters go to work on a different swan song for him.
Gavin held his composure in manly way in circumstances. Well done!

PatOLogical (Limerick) - Posts: 1377 - 11/08/2014 14:18:38    1634983

Fair play to Donal O Grady he was prepared to take red to stop a kilkenny goal. The crafty fox JJ did the same in the first half. The ref should be praised for the way he administered the game. It was a tough game to ref and to be fair Cody has taken defeats on the chin before. Donal O'Grady has taken a leaf out of Kerrys, Kilkennys and Dublins book which is do whatever you have to win. Biting faceguard pulling, butt of the hurley into the eye in Donals case. The successful teams get praised for crossing the line between fair play and dirt. I remember a few years ago in Killarney Tom O Shea took out Stephen Kelly. Limerick were cribbing at the ref and Kerry won as usual. Thats the difference.

87LK100 (Limerick) - Posts: 65 - 11/08/2014 15:03:21    1635022

87LK100
County: Limerick
Posts: 65

1635022
Fair play to Donal O Grady he was prepared to take red to stop a kilkenny goal. The crafty fox JJ did the same in the first half. The ref should be praised for the way he administered the game. It was a tough game to ref and to be fair Cody has taken defeats on the chin before. Donal O'Grady has taken a leaf out of Kerrys, Kilkennys and Dublins book which is do whatever you have to win. Biting faceguard pulling, butt of the hurley into the eye in Donals case. The successful teams get praised for crossing the line between fair play and dirt. I remember a few years ago in Killarney Tom O Shea took out Stephen Kelly. Limerick were cribbing at the ref and Kerry won as usual. Thats the difference.


Fair play to you sir!

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8458 - 11/08/2014 15:11:06    1635028

There is no doubt that Henry Shefflin is one of the greatest hurlers to grace the planet but I thought he let himself down badly when introduced as substitute. In an otherwise "clean" match he tore into Gavin O'Mahony upon his arrival. Fair play to O'Mahony for standing his ground and for getting on with the match.

dub95 (Dublin) - Posts: 17 - 11/08/2014 15:16:08    1635033

And lads Henry ran in his marker came out to meet him not the other way around they both shouldered each other at the same time. Can we get over ourselves, his man came out to meet him, he knew exactly what was happening. Happens on ever pitch every weekend, lads on here saying a full length wild pull in mid air is a yellow but a sly butt into the ribs is a red? Is that where we are now?

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8458 - 11/08/2014 15:38:07    1635057

I certainly wouldn't give a card for using butt of Hurley but if u read above hefty was talking about limerick lads striking n not getting punished. I just pointed out it wasn't only limerick lads.

I feel hurling could do with advantage rule as there is a lot of holding n charging which goes unpunished ( both sides)

I'm not complaining about anything kk players did. I'm complaining about umpires who allowed an illegal goal. As I said it is the third illegal goal allowed against lk this year. Now that surely is too many. We also had a goal disallowed for contact made with a full backs hurlalso! Sound familiar? I guarantee u kk or cork would be complaining this morning if it was done to their f back.

When I got to Dublin on Sunday I was told about rain that fell Saturday night. I felt straight away that elements would suit older more experienced team. I believe that Richie hogan woulda played better on dry ground but I think our younger team would have been better suited to dry sod.

disillusiondfan (Limerick) - Posts: 4279 - 11/08/2014 16:14:52    1635087

thought Downes and at times Mulcahy really struggled in the wet weather , Hannon thrived in it surprisingly , Im full of admiration for Limerick hurlers this morning , what a bunch , they're cool dudes and are only going to get better as long as they avoid injuries and retirements

stekhli (Dublin) - Posts: 3121 - 11/08/2014 16:28:51    1635100

Stehkli they are tough bunch who love a game like yesterday, it is years since i saw such a physical game and both teams have to be applauded. I think Hannon hit Cillian Buckley at one stage and it was one of the best hits i have seen, a beauty.

Hoover78 (Limerick) - Posts: 865 - 11/08/2014 17:18:14    1635152

Well that was absolutely heartbreaking. Kept quiet when I saw people blindly saying that Kilkenny would win handy, as anybody who has been watching the championship this year would not have been able to say that with a straight face. The lads certainly proved the opposite, but again it's another gallant loss rather than an All-Ireland final.

We really got into Kilkenny's faces I thought, very rarely were they allowed time on the ball. Inexplicably however, there did appear to be a lot of space around midfield due to this tigerish defending, which two or three times allowed them soft scores from out the field. That is to be expected however when all hands are on deck at that intensity.

In my opinion, the 10 minute deluge of rain involved some of the most intense and spectacular hurling I've seen. Not champagne by any means, but it seemed as if every Limerick person there united behind our boys as they really took the game to Kilkenny, and dominated them up and down the field. From there, it was a sense that this was to be our day. It was a passage that I will never forget ever, epitomised by the belts given to Richie Power and Henry in particular.

Easy to say, but Kilkenny took their goal chance and we didn't. I wouldn't count Larkin's goal as a goal chance funnily enough, as it happened literally out of nothing rather than well crafted play. We had opportunities to cut the gap, David Breen should have put it over the bar when he made that bursting run. The goal may have been on, but I wouldn't have fancied him to stick it. All about the small margins, and you could say the same for Paul Browne when he had his chance aswell. The closing of the game saw us taking the ball into contact far too often in the hope of popping the ball to the next man, which led to us coughing up possession or being blocked too easily when striking. In those conditions, the ball was only ever going to be spilled before being swarmed by 2-3 Kilkenny men, who defended excellently. In this respect, I felt we were naive in our play.

James McGrath was poor on both sides I felt. In the main, there should have been more frees than were given, which could easily have swung the balance. He won't look on this as his best performance. I didn't see Condon's faceguard incident, but JJ's was there on the big screen for everyone to see. For those saying he didn't mean to grip Dowling's guard, he had a fairly strong grab of it in my opinion to know what he was doing. He got away with it though, as did Dodge for his trip on Richie Power. Should both have been sent off? Yes. Should Henry have been sent off for butting Gavin O'Mahony? It would have been harsh I think, a yellow though was definitely merited as there is no place for that in the game, no matter who you are.

All in all, a fantastic game and sickening that we didn't come out on top in a contest that nobody could begrudge us in. I think after a game like that, Kilkenny will be able to see off either Tipperary or Cork in the final. I heard Kilkenny lads after the game saying they've never had as intense a contest as that in a very long time, and that will stand to them for sure. We must wait until next year, and I would be hopeful. As of now, a Munster title is no longer the goal, we have to make the breakthrough. We have some very talented minors, if we can get even one of those lads to star for us in the next few years it would be huge. The group we have are by and large reaching their prime years, so we are well poised with a good mix of experience and skill that can capitalise.

A phenomenal performance, that I hope will be eclipsed this time next year.

bob_dolphin (Limerick) - Posts: 694 - 11/08/2014 17:41:33    1635170

bob_dolphin
County: Limerick
Posts: 636

1635170
Well that was absolutely heartbreaking. Kept quiet when I saw people blindly saying that Kilkenny would win handy, as anybody who has been watching the championship this year would not have been able to say that with a straight face. The lads certainly proved the opposite, but again it's another gallant loss rather than an All-Ireland final.

We really got into Kilkenny's faces I thought, very rarely were they allowed time on the ball. Inexplicably however, there did appear to be a lot of space around midfield due to this tigerish defending, which two or three times allowed them soft scores from out the field. That is to be expected however when all hands are on deck at that intensity.

In my opinion, the 10 minute deluge of rain involved some of the most intense and spectacular hurling I've seen. Not champagne by any means, but it seemed as if every Limerick person there united behind our boys as they really took the game to Kilkenny, and dominated them up and down the field. From there, it was a sense that this was to be our day. It was a passage that I will never forget ever, epitomised by the belts given to Richie Power and Henry in particular.

Easy to say, but Kilkenny took their goal chance and we didn't. I wouldn't count Larkin's goal as a goal chance funnily enough, as it happened literally out of nothing rather than well crafted play. We had opportunities to cut the gap, David Breen should have put it over the bar when he made that bursting run. The goal may have been on, but I wouldn't have fancied him to stick it. All about the small margins, and you could say the same for Paul Browne when he had his chance aswell. The closing of the game saw us taking the ball into contact far too often in the hope of popping the ball to the next man, which led to us coughing up possession or being blocked too easily when striking. In those conditions, the ball was only ever going to be spilled before being swarmed by 2-3 Kilkenny men, who defended excellently. In this respect, I felt we were naive in our play.

James McGrath was poor on both sides I felt. In the main, there should have been more frees than were given, which could easily have swung the balance. He won't look on this as his best performance. I didn't see Condon's faceguard incident, but JJ's was there on the big screen for everyone to see. For those saying he didn't mean to grip Dowling's guard, he had a fairly strong grab of it in my opinion to know what he was doing. He got away with it though, as did Dodge for his trip on Richie Power. Should both have been sent off? Yes. Should Henry have been sent off for butting Gavin O'Mahony? It would have been harsh I think, a yellow though was definitely merited as there is no place for that in the game, no matter who you are.

All in all, a fantastic game and sickening that we didn't come out on top in a contest that nobody could begrudge us in. I think after a game like that, Kilkenny will be able to see off either Tipperary or Cork in the final. I heard Kilkenny lads after the game saying they've never had as intense a contest as that in a very long time, and that will stand to them for sure. We must wait until next year, and I would be hopeful. As of now, a Munster title is no longer the goal, we have to make the breakthrough. We have some very talented minors, if we can get even one of those lads to star for us in the next few years it would be huge. The group we have are by and large reaching their prime years, so we are well poised with a good mix of experience and skill that can capitalise.

A phenomenal performance, that I hope will be eclipsed this time next year.


Fair play, very balanced view. Some of the anti Kilkenny stuff on here is beyond belief. People actually try and pick out stuff during a game and seem to miss calls that go against Kilkenny.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8458 - 11/08/2014 18:05:14    1635185

Flaker are u from a different planet? Where is the anti kilkenny stuff?

Hickey gave one of best displays ever given by a back yesterday n kk poster said he was holding Reid. Another comment was kk couldn't buy a free. Also mention few belts given by limerick players.

Poster who said kk can give n take got it right. Would have no prob with kk and don't think any other lk posters do either

disillusiondfan (Limerick) - Posts: 4279 - 11/08/2014 18:39:03    1635214

Its the 55th minute Limerick have scored the last 5 points and go into a 2 point lead. KK are on the ropes. The Killkenny goalie pucks out to his half back [no danger Holden facing his own goal] , the Limerick captain gives away a crazy free and could have seen red. Free is pucked in. goal. Kilkenny see a chink of light and thats all they need. Limerick only score one more point. To me that free was a game changer. You get punished for mistakes by the big teams. I think limerick could have got over the line if they had managed to avoid conceeding that 2nd goal.

JR_Iarmhi (Westmeath) - Posts: 40 - 11/08/2014 19:14:10    1635231

JR Iarmhui,that is a good call.I also think that over zealous tackle,which led to Kilkennys crucial second goal,was the games turning point.Limerick had Kilkenny on the ropes.I cudnt see where they were going to get a goal.It was a wild swing,in an area of no danger.Ultimately it proved a very costly act of indiscipline.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 11/08/2014 19:39:36    1635251