29-7-19 hurling semis
HURLING SEMIS
WEXFORD 3-20 1-28 TIP
FANTASTI FORDE AND
MIGHTY MC GRATH
Paudie Foley hit the opening point from his own half after
only 15 seconds, and though Ronan Maher replied instantly, Wexford could have
had two goals in the opening five minutes.
A shot from Chin fell short, Tipp keeper Brian Hogan
uncertainly came off his line but the ball skipped away from Diarmuid O’Keeffe
and Wexford had to settle for a point from Rory O’Connor.
Wexford’s deep runners and quick offloads were causing havoc
in the bewildered Tipperary defence and after Liam Ryan got forward to score,
Shaun Murphy stepped inside John O’Dwyer but his goalbound shot was deflected
wide by Ronan Maher. Chin converted the 65 and Wexford had a three point-lead.
Surely this blockbuster pace couldn’t be maintained?
Correct, it got even more intense.
Michael Breen kicked the ball to the Wexford net but it was
harshly ruled out for Jason Forde colliding with Matthew O’Hanlon in the
build-up.
In the 10th minute, one that there was no doubt about.
Niall O’Meara advanced on goal but overplayed his handpass to Seamus Callanan.
No problem for a player of the Drom & Inch man’s skill, he pulled on the
bouncing ball 15 metres to the right of goal and buried it into the bottom left
corner of Mark Fanning’s net. His seventh in seven games and 34th in
Championship.
Tipp now led for the first time, and after Forde’s second
free it was 1-03 to 0-04 with 15 minutes elapsed.
Paul Morris and Liam Óg McGovern hit fine scores as Wexford
continued to find more space in attack but Noel McGrath landed the first of two
excellent efforts from play before the Model men pushed on.
Alarming gaps were appearing in the Tipperary defence.
O'Keeffe capitalised to level it up and Hogan tipped a Rory O’Connor effort on
goal over the bar but he couldn’t stop Conor McDonald in the 25th minute,
the towering forward taking a step inside Paudie Maher to rattle the net.
Fanning saved well from John McGrath before a moment of
bizarre drama in the 32nd minute.
A Chin free appeared to have dropped short, Hogan gathered
and cleared to midfield, where Tipp won a free. They took it quickly and after
a delicious flick from Bubbles, John McGrath batted to the net.
The Premier men’s celebrations were cut short as referee
Sean Cleere got the nod that Chin’s shot had in fact cleared the bar, Wexford
now four up instead of level.
Perhaps smarting from the (correct) decision, Tipperary
responded with three in a row from three of their standout performers: Noel
McGrath (0-04 on the day), Ronan Maher again and Callanan (1-02).
O’Dwyer and Forde both landed their first points from play
but McDonald and Chin frees helped Fitzgerald’s men into a two-point lead at
the break.
Tipperary came out with renewed purpose and were ahead by
the 43rd minute after Forde (two frees) O’Dwyer, a growing problem for the
Wexford defence, and Breen – after a huge catch from Ronan Maher – were on
target.
Morris did brilliantly to level it up when he chased what
looked a lost cause into the corner before what seemed destined to be the
game’s pivotal moment.
Tipperary had lost possession when John McGrath, held scoreless
on the day, decided to swipe at Reck’s back from his knees as the Wexford
defender ran past him. Referee Cleere rightly ordered him off but appeared to
do so via a second yellow.
Wexford had a decent shout for a penalty (Padraic Maher
holding Rory O’Connor) ignored before Chin burst onto Shaun Murphy’s pass and
into space. The captain ignored Rory O’Connor outside him to slip the ball
under and into the net – 2-18 to 1-16.
Tipp came again. Callanan, Forde, Bubbles and sub Ger
Browne, who should have netted after a superb run from Barry Heffernan, all
scoring from play as their half-backs and Cathal Barrett started to dominate.
On the hour, it was level when McDonald swept home his
second goal from a Morris centre. Discussions took place over a possible square
ball but replays appeared to vindicate the Wexford man.
3-18 to 1-21. Surely Wexford could start sweeping the
crossroads in expectation for the party to come?
Perhaps that seeped into the subconscious. The 14 somehow
found an extra gear as their opponents started to tire.
Man of the match Noel McGrath hit two immense points from
midfield and sub Flynn tied it up from the sideline.
Wexford inched ahead again, Maher penalised for overcarrying
in front of goal. Willie Connors hit back.
As the six minutes of injury time were announced, another
contentious, pause and rewind moment.
Ryan dragged down Callanan and Morris swept the loose ball
to the net. Cleere had signalled a penalty however and called it back. Then he
decided the offence had been outside the parallelogram. You didn’t need to
have the fuming Liam Sheedy miked up on the sideline to guess what he was
roaring.
Forde nailed the free though and his second 65 of the day
when Callanan’s shot was deflected out by the superb Kevin Foley.
A Chin free after Paudie Maher was pinged for the second
time while bringing the ball out gave a brief boost to Wexford’s fading hope
but Morris had the last word.
MY
OPINION
The fact that Tip got a red card
did not affect them in fact it made them stronger in my opinion and they have
shown here that they are ready for any test. For Wexford to score 2 more goals
than your opponents and loose a match must mean you are doing something wrong
LIMRICK 2-17 1-21
KILKENNY
FANTASTIC FENELLY AND
RUNNING REID
Discipline was an issue from the start for the Munster
champions, who conceded two frees, both converted by TJ Reid, within the
opening 90 seconds.
Of equal concern was the fact that their puckout, usually a
source of strength, was malfunctioning as Kilkenny were content to drop deep
and let Nickie Quaid go short then use the extra men in midfield to try and
turn over the ball.
And turn it over they did, repeatedly. The Cats were
tackling ferociously, winning all the 50-50 battles and Limerick's touch looked
off as Kilkenny eased into a 0-06 to 0-01 lead by the 10th minute, thanks
to a superb sideline cut from Reid and two points from the recalled Walter
Walsh.
Adrian Mullen fired over after Tom Morrissey was bottled up
and, despite Graeme Mulcahy getting one back, the margin was a staggering nine
after a quarter of an hour when a long ball in was gathered by Fennelly, who
turned Seán Finn before flicking past Quaid to the net.
To Limerick’s credit, they didn’t panic, and landed the next
three scores through Gillane (1-09), one of their few players operating at full
steam, Peter Casey and Mulcahy, after a delicious dummy by Wille O’Donoghue.
But Limerick continued to leak frees, punished flawlessly by
Reid, and the lead was double scores by the 25th minute when Gearóid
Hegarty crunched Paddy Deegan in frustration at miscontrolling the ball.
Limerick hit back with three in a row again, an
inspirational score from Tom Morrissey either side of Gillane frees, and
probably would have been relieved enough with an interval deficit of four.
But in injury-time, Huw Lawlor put his arm around Gillane’s
neck as they grappled under the dropping ball. Referee Alan Kelly signalled a
penalty and Gillane rattled it to the net for Limerick’s first
Championship goal against Kilkenny in four games, dating back to 2012.
An otherwise quiet Richie Hogan had the last say in the
first half but Kilkenny had worked very hard for what was now just a 1-12 to
1-09 lead at the break.
Limerick lost captain Declan Hannon to a suspected broken
rib at half time, Barry Nash replacing him, and despite Fennelly extending
the lead, Gillane quickly hit back.
Limerick started to get on top physically. Their forwards
hassled the Kilkenny backs into a trio of frees, Gillane converting them all to
make a one-point game, 1-15 to 1-14 on 48 minutes.
Former Hurler of the Year Hogan had been hauled off
unsentimentally at this stage, as was John Donnelly, seconds after hitting a
momentum-halting point that restored the lead to two.
Nash, who got to grips with the game
quickly, narrowed the gap, but Kilkenny responded with four on the
trot to lead 1-20 to 1-15 on the hour mark; star performers Mullen (0-04) and
Fennelly (1-03) alternating with scores, Mullen’s first after a fine catch and
turn, one of particular beauty.
There was the rare sight of Reid, restricted to one free
after the break after hitting 0-07 in the first half, missing a placed ball
before - who else? - Shane Dowling gave the champions hope.
Eight minutes after replacing Hegarty, the Na Piarsaigh
sharpshooter took a handpass from Kyle Hayes and batted the ball at an
unorthodox angle to the corner of Eoin Murphy’s net.
Another sub, David Reidy made it a one-point game. Five
minutes injury time. Long enough to turn your hair white, if you hadn’t already
torn it out.
Diarmaid Byrnes sent a long-range free wide and James Maher
gave Kilkenny breathing space with a score from a tight angle.
Two minutes left. Eoin Murphy gets down low to save from
Reidy. Byrnes sends over the resulting 65.
The seconds tick away. Darragh O'Donovan has a
sideline to force a replay. The ball sails wide. Limerick appeal for a 65 but
none is forthcoming.
MY
OPINION
Brian Cody showed here his
experience in how to win a match when things get tough he knows how to get the
job done and how to change a game in impossible situations and he will push on
and do well in the final. Limerick must feel like they have been sucker punched
as they must feel they deserved something from this game
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