AI Hurling Championship 2024

[RedHand88]

If niblock didn't use phenomenal at least 6 times today then I dunno

(I watched rte)

There was also a "point from the gods".

[Milltown Row2]

In work, feeling very depressed after sitting in Croker watching that yesterday.. What a spectacle it was nearly a score a minute 30 points each at normal time, no hanging about and both teams had plenty opportunities to win and lose the game.

I had the reason given to me about the black card penalty call that wasn't given and it made sense at the time, but the Guinness take has stopped me from remembering it.

The miss at the end of normal time, he was fouled no doubt leading up to it and an easy shirt tog would have been a easy one to give, but the player should have taken an extra step or two to steady up and pop that over as the ref at that stage would not have blown for over carrying.

Disappointed for Cork as they had done all the hard work in beating Limerick and making the championship exciting this year, from being a puck of the ball out of the Munster championship to being favourites for the title..

The football will certainly be a tense affair but would have to reach some heights to get anywhere near as the quality that went on yesterday in HQ

Tried to watch the highlights last night when I got back, but couldn't keep the eyes open

[marty34]

My brief summary of yesterday's epic.


I thought that Clare just edged it although I wouldn't have complained if it went to replay.  Clare missed a few 'handy' scores in the last 10 mins tokeel them ahead. In saying that,Cork never gave in and battled to the end.


An heroic effort by both teams.


Cork started very fast and blew Clare out ofit. Up by 7pts and cruising. As someone said, it's all about getting as much feom your purple patch as you can. Clare got it with their goal and steadied the ship. Darragh Fitz's only real contribution was the equalising score right on half time.


Downey's goal was excellent but nobody met him - Hogan waited and waited and never committed. I'd say Lohan wouldn't have liked that but he had no time to dwell on it. If that solo run happened at U12, the manager wouldn't be to happy.  Take nothing away from RobDowney, he stayed going and banged it off the hurl. A great goal.


Clare's goal come from the industry of O'Donnell. He's so hard to tackle - all arms and legs and never stops. It came at a great time for Clare and started their purple patch. Diarmaid Ryan hit two fantastic long range efforts inside a few minutes.  I was shouting don't be shooting but what do I know. He nailed them and gave clare's half-back a great footing in the game, when it looked as if they were being over-run in that early period.


The first half flew by.  It was excellent. It just settled down to be a shoot out - like and U14 game. Let's just play hurling and see who can score the most.  I think everybody sensed a classic brewing but we couldn't have imagined it to see what was coming down the tracks. Whether that was because it wasn't Limerick and Kilkenny or what, who knows but there was definately a sense of anticipation that it wasn't going to let us down.


The second half was quality - quality of effort, honesty and scores. Score for score but TK's goal was just fantastic. It was like he was in his back garden. The class and ability to do that on the biggest stage of all, at that time was just...Tony Kelly. A huge performance by him, in a trying year for him.  Delighted for him to get MOTM last night.  Very much well deserved.  Too many people are too quick to write players off or give out about these lads like TK, Canning, TJ and Horgan are just superstars of the game. I just love them! Some of Kelly's points were just magical - the one on the turn and especially the rob, flick up twice and over on his left side. Just magical skill. 


So many big moments in the game, nearly too many to mention. Was it O'Flynn who went for goal? (in hindsight, carry it another 10-12 yards before shoting and put it low) Or just put it over the bar and keep the scoreboard ticking over.


The 'penalty/back card' incident.  I think the ref got it right. The Cork player took the gamble and went beyond the bunch of players and the ball went over the top and he was ready to run onto it before the 'tangle'. I think the Cork lad was looking for it - there was a little tug, very little but the Cork lad fell forward.  My take on that that if you'r being tugged back, naturally you don't fall forward. Spot on by the referee, who I'll come to later on.  Hoggie tapped it over to put two points in it. The last wide was definately a free - a clear pull, but as Donal Óg said, heshould have scored it regardless.  I missed the tug in real time. It would have suited everyone to have the draw and I think no one would have complained in fairness.


Murphy was very good as referee. Let it flow ans blew when he needed to. Even got a faceguard frontal smash for his troubles - to add to the drama. For me, he got the big call right. I thought he was tight on two handy enough frees for Cork with the pulling inside - I'm sure the Cork lads were at it at the other end also but they didn't get one, never mind two. A minor quibble. He was cramping up in extra-time but soldiered on. 


Re: Puck outs. As I said last week, he'd slow the puck outs down a bit, especially after a score and this hindered Cork more than Clare.  He pulled the quick puck out back three orfour times. Cork rely, as per their Limerick game, on fast puck out ball to get their running game going.  Collins couldn't get the quick puck out going to Darragh Fitz or, to a lesser extent, Dalton. 


Cork played their hearts out but I knew they couldn't or wouldn't get to the pitch of their Limerick performance again,especilly inside two weeks.  Just impossible to do. That's why I picked Clare last week. To be fair to Cork, to beat Limerick twice in a few weeks and in an AI semi-final and not win the All-Ireland will be sickening. There were seconds away from being out of Munster and yesterday were a split second decision away from getting a replay. No consolotion to them this morning but the Rebels are back boy!  The Downey brothers can not push on at No. 3 and No. 6 and Ryan can build a team around them.


Will Pat Horgan stay? - a question for another day.  Again, a superstar of hurling. Disappointed for him but that's sport. I was thinking about the free right at the end of extra-time the Collins hit - I know it was a long way out but was it within Horgan's range. It was on an angle and a long way out.  I'd need to watch it again but I felt at the time that Collins didn't catch it fully but it still landed around the 'D'. Again asmall quibble.


It was a game for me where everyone was at least a 5/6+ out of 10  - on both teams.  Both teams needed the 20 players. Everybody gave their all.
Leen was brillant also.  Shanagher will be a happy man today.  Things just didn't right for him when introduced but he has his AI medal.  I thought Cleary and Hogan were superb, especially after their early yellow cards. They seemed to just throw the shackles off and went for it.  Man to man, bring it on. The pair of them were unreal in the heat of battle. Never gave and inch.


The Euros may have come and gone, The Olympics are almost with us but Thank God for the hurling - The Sport of Kings.


POTY - Shane O'Donnell.
YPOTY - Adam Hogan.
 

[johnnycool]

In work, feeling very depressed after sitting in Croker watching that yesterday.. What a spectacle it was nearly a score a minute 30 points each at normal time, no hanging about and both teams had plenty opportunities to win and lose the game.

I had the reason given to me about the black card penalty call that wasn't given and it made sense at the time, but the Guinness take has stopped me from remembering it.

The miss at the end of normal time, he was fouled no doubt leading up to it and an easy shirt tog would have been a easy one to give, but the player should have taken an extra step or two to steady up and pop that over as the ref at that stage would not have blown for over carrying.

Disappointed for Cork as they had done all the hard work in beating Limerick and making the championship exciting this year, from being a puck of the ball out of the Munster championship to being favourites for the title..

The football will certainly be a tense affair but would have to reach some heights to get anywhere near as the quality that went on yesterday in HQ

Tried to watch the highlights last night when I got back, but couldn't keep the eyes open

I'm not disappointed for Cork or Horgan at all. They're a county with huge resources, probably 3 or 4 times more senior hurlers to pick from than Clare, already have 30+ AI's in the bag, so glad that Clare won considering that at the start of Lohan's managerial reign he was paying for stuff for the team out of his own pocket until some business's got together to get Clare on the right track.

G'wan Lohan, ye boy ye!!

As for the game itself the Clare defence in particular their half backs won some amount of clean catches to stifle the Cork attack looking for the breaks from those puckouts. Conlon is a bear of a man, anything in his area he either won it, spoiled it for the Cork man and just being a downright nuisance. Davy Mac continued with his semi-final form and Diarmuid Ryan also winning his own ball and driving forward with it, heck even big Clear won a lot of high ball when needed.
In Leen and Hogan you've the two stereotypical corner backs all teams need, quick, clever hurlers with a bit of needle in them, both have kept some high profile forwards very quiet, Cunningham was called ashore yesterday and if Horgan wasn't on the frees he'd have been removed as well such was his ineffectiveness in open play barring the odd cameo.

It wasn't all plain sailing and Cork bring so much to hurling in general and can consider themselves very unlucky, but refereeing decisions aside there were the two really poor wides in extra time that will be their undoing.
They left other scores behind them on the day as well, their accuracy in the first 15 minutes was extraordinary, 1-8 from the 9 shots they got off is unreal.
Clare looked to be shell shocked only for SOD to get onto two balls and 1-1 came off him. He seemed to have hurt the shoulder in the second half and I'm say the Cork defence felt nothing but relief seeing him trudge off.
Corks shooting and decision making went a bit wayward from then on. Maybe even after such a purple batch it can be so disillusioning to see Clare still in the hunt and even looked like going in at half time a point up, but still drawing.
Big Fitzgerald for Clare also hit some really bad wides and also some poor decisions on the ball cost goals, so both teams had left plenty of scores behind them.

Tony Kelly, what more can I say? What that lad can do with a hurl and sliotar in the tightest of confines beggars belief. Enough said.

All in all, hurling was the winner yesterday, and yes maybe a replay after ordinary time is the right thing, but what a period of extra time we got all in all.

[didlyi]

So Clare beat Cork twice
Limerick beat Clare Twice
and Cork beat Limerick Twice
Mad Ted!
Would that Clare performance have stopped Limericks drive for 5. I think so but well never know now. Im sure Clare would have loved that.

[Cortoon]

It's hard to believe that Cork will be trying to bridge a 20 year between All Irelands next year.
Donal Óg and the SIPTU branch have a lot to answer for.

[johnnycool]

So Clare beat Cork twice
Limerick beat Clare Twice
and Cork beat Limerick Twice
Mad Ted!
Would that Clare performance have stopped Limericks drive for 5. I think so but well never know now. Im sure Clare would have loved that.

Limerick wouldn't have rained down ball on top of the Clare halfback line like Cork did. They'd have been able to run it out the field and pick out the spaces for Guillane to murder Cleary. Cork didn't expose Cleary enough and that was down to the Clare half backs and midfield denying them the opportunity.

[imtommygunn]

Those stats are quite startling tbh if the sunday game ones were corrected. Cork won 2 from 14 of their own puckouts in the first half and Clare scored 4 points of their puckout. Your man Kinurk(spelling) would have been all over that for Limerick.

[marty34]

For all the 50/50 decisions against Cork, did Clare get a free in the 2nd half?

[Milltown Row2]

Ya have to foul someone before giving them a free

But in all seriousness the half back from both teams won most balls in the first half, not sure why this was a tactic used as there was little reward for it (even though they scored 30 points lol)

There was a few times were lads didn't react quick enough when balls either broke or played out to space.

In the end Clare shaded it, but only just, If Cork played Clare next week I'd expect a different approach from them tactic wise, for me that's what let Cork down 

[ClubScene13]

What does hurling resources have to do with sympathy towards Patrick Horgan? Gutted for him and Harnedy, I'm sure the 30+ all irelands when Cork were a dominant force means nothing to them boys today

[johnnycool]

What does hurling resources have to do with sympathy towards Patrick Horgan? Gutted for him and Harnedy, I'm sure the 30+ all irelands when Cork were a dominant force means nothing to them boys today

He could possibly join a long list of very good hurlers who may never win an AI medal.

He won't be the last either.

[burdizzo]

I'd imagine it's not the quest for that elusive medal that keeps him going; I think he hurls for the sheer love of it. He was better yesterday than in the semi-final, but did miss one free he'd normally get. Still, 10/12 is not bad. Thought he was mad floating his last one over, but he was right - there was time for another attack.

[johnnycool]

I'd imagine it's not the quest for that elusive medal that keeps him going; I think he hurls for the sheer love of it. He was better yesterday than in the semi-final, but did miss one free he'd normally get. Still, 10/12 is not bad. Thought he was mad floating his last one over, but he was right - there was time for another attack.

He was indeed right even through the protestations of Duignan who seemed to have expected an extra minute rather than the actual two.

The question now for Pat Ryan is whether he thinks Horgan's presence is going to be detrimental to the team in 2025 if he's unhappy at being a squad player rather than a sure starter. The same may be the case for Lehane and Harnedy.

[burdizzo]

I'd imagine it's not the quest for that elusive medal that keeps him going; I think he hurls for the sheer love of it. He was better yesterday than in the semi-final, but did miss one free he'd normally get. Still, 10/12 is not bad. Thought he was mad floating his last one over, but he was right - there was time for another attack.

He was indeed right even through the protestations of Duignan who seemed to have expected an extra minute rather than the actual two.

The question now for Pat Ryan is whether he thinks Horgan's presence is going to be detrimental to the team in 2025 if he's unhappy at being a squad player rather than a sure starter. The same may be the case for Lehane and Harnedy.

Can't remember the exact words, but after the match Pat Ryan said something like "Horgan will be there and ready to go next year".