Na Cait v Gaillimh, AIF 9 Sept

[johnneycool]

Another Westmeath man to referee the replay in James McGrath, when can we expect some journalist to ask Cody about the refereeing and Cody won't comment, but just to say that he wants a free flowing manly game!!

Best of luck to McGrath, he did a good job in the Leinster final in so much as no one was talking about him, but with a closer game expected, every decision will be scrutinised.

[AZOffaly]

He's a good young ref. Fair play to him.

[Premier Emperor]

If McGrath doesn't listen to Cody and Shefflin and gives Galway a bit of fair play, they'll win this game as comfortably as they won the Leinster final.

[cicfada]

hi lads/lassies,
I was pretty pessimistic after the drawn match but have settled into a pattern of ..."we have a chance" territory again now!! Both teams had fallow periods in the match and both teams have players that can play better! For me the worry would be if   both teams play to the pattern that the matches have gone to this year! With the exception of the Semi final Galway have come out of the blocks very quickly in the first half and Kilkenny on the other hand have won every second half of every match they  have played!! Make no mistake  about it, the cats will win if that happens! I can't see  all the kilkenny forwards and Michael Fennelly being so quiet for the next match  as well! Now  on the other hand, Galwya can improve as well,   there are several galway forwards that played poorly as well, 4 of them did not score and another worrying thing about the Galway display was the fact that the team reverted into a panicky use of the ball in the second half as well! This happened in the Cork match and it shows to me a lack of composure in the team which would come down to a lack of experience, understandably so!! The Galway team will have the experience of the first match under their belt  now and that will stand to them! I expect Cyril Donnellan ( 1 of those 4 forwards)  to have a much better game the next day as his arm had not recovered fully, at the time of the last match!! David Burke had a poor match and from what I hear  his training form had not been great either! I hope he recovers his form as this is mandatory for our lads to win! First half again will be vital and again no goals conceded will do nicely!! The great sub plot  to this match is of course the henry v joe competition and indeed  Henry showed his mettle the last day! Quite apart from his very annoying and unsportsmanlike behaviour when it comes to trying to influence refs, he is a superb competitor and this duel will be fascinating again!  Can't wait for the match and there will be another huge crowd form the west there! from what I hear every jackass that has never gone to a hurling match before involving galway, is going this time!! This is my 6th time seeing them this year and I hope that  it's a satisfactory one!  I also  hope that those who have gone supporting them this year will get tickets easy enough and roll on the 30th!

[mouview]

hi lads/lassies,
Can't wait for the match and there will be another huge crowd form the west there! from what I hear every jackass that has never gone to a hurling match before involving galway, is going this time!! This is my 6th time seeing them this year and I hope that  it's a satisfactory one! I also  hope that those who have gone supporting them this year will get tickets easy enough and roll on the 30th!

Galway have never had such a protracted championship run. Can only be good.

[johnneycool]

hi lads/lassies,
I was pretty pessimistic after the drawn match but have settled into a pattern of ..."we have a chance" territory again now!! Both teams had fallow periods in the match and both teams have players that can play better! For me the worry would be if   both teams play to the pattern that the matches have gone to this year! With the exception of the Semi final Galway have come out of the blocks very quickly in the first half and Kilkenny on the other hand have won every second half of every match they  have played!! Make no mistake  about it, the cats will win if that happens! I can't see  all the kilkenny forwards and Michael Fennelly being so quiet for the next match  as well! Now  on the other hand, Galwya can improve as well,   there are several galway forwards that played poorly as well, 4 of them did not score and another worrying thing about the Galway display was the fact that the team reverted into a panicky use of the ball in the second half as well! This happened in the Cork match and it shows to me a lack of composure in the team which would come down to a lack of experience, understandably so!! The Galway team will have the experience of the first match under their belt  now and that will stand to them! I expect Cyril Donnellan ( 1 of those 4 forwards)  to have a much better game the next day as his arm had not recovered fully, at the time of the last match!! David Burke had a poor match and from what I hear  his training form had not been great either! I hope he recovers his form as this is mandatory for our lads to win! First half again will be vital and again no goals conceded will do nicely!! The great sub plot  to this match is of course the henry v joe competition and indeed  Henry showed his mettle the last day! Quite apart from his very annoying and unsportsmanlike behaviour when it comes to trying to influence refs, he is a superb competitor and this duel will be fascinating again!  Can't wait for the match and there will be another huge crowd form the west there! from what I hear every jackass that has never gone to a hurling match before involving galway, is going this time!! This is my 6th time seeing them this year and I hope that  it's a satisfactory one!  I also  hope that those who have gone supporting them this year will get tickets easy enough and roll on the 30th!

As you say its hard to see Michael Fennelly being as quiet again but then again the Galway midfield have had the better of exchanges in the last two games, I'd be a bit worried about Shefflin on Óg Regan and if that match up does happen, Regan should forget about the ball and do all in his power to man-mark Shefflin out of the game. If he does that which is no mean feat Galway will come out on top.

It'd be interesting to see how the attitude in both camp varies, Kilkenny had the game for the taking in the second half but couldn't put Galway to the sword like they have with most other teams in the last 10 years, but Kilkenny had a poor first half and that was compounded by hitting bad wides early on when Galway could have been at their most vunerable due to the big game and lack of experience. Cannings goal changed all that and Galway grew into the game, taking it by the scruff of the neck, Kilkenny were shipping water all over their defence at this point. Galway for all their ascendancy were giving away soft frees and that allowed the margin to remain at the 6 or 7 point mark, very manageable for a team like Kilkenny.
Galway will be relieved to get a second chance, but know such a good first half mightn'd happen again, but everyone was expecting them to be blown out of the water and they most certainly weren't. I'd just wish they'd defended further up the field rather than let kilkenny come at them so much.
Kilkenny at half time would have taken the draw, but would have been gutted at the end of the second half with it as can be seen by Cody's reaction. He now has to get these bunch of players to dig deep, mentally and physically for another battle and his go to players are surely now getting tired from the heavy investment they've made over the years. They'll need Colm Fennelly, Paul Murphy, Joyce and some of the fresher blood to weigh in with their pound of flesh this time though, there's only so many times Shefflin, Hogan and JJ can bale this team out.

If Galway go with a real positive manner for the 70 minutes I can see them winning it.

[Premier Emperor]

hi lads/lassies,
Can't wait for the match and there will be another huge crowd form the west there! from what I hear every jackass that has never gone to a hurling match before involving galway, is going this time!! This is my 6th time seeing them this year and I hope that  it's a satisfactory one! I also  hope that those who have gone supporting them this year will get tickets easy enough and roll on the 30th!

Galway have never had such a protracted championship run. Can only be good.

Lord help ye!
Galway won 2 All Irelands by winning just 4 games in the 80s.

[AZOffaly]

did they not have to play Roscommon back then?

[Premier Emperor]

did they not have to play Roscommon back then?

No, straight into the semi final.
It was a farce!

[joe bloggs]

did they not have to play Roscommon back then?

No, straight into the semi final.
It was a farce!

Yes but it was not their fault that the system was that way back then.
At least now Galway and everyone else compete on the same terms

[seafoid]

hi lads/lassies,
Can't wait for the match and there will be another huge crowd form the west there! from what I hear every jackass that has never gone to a hurling match before involving galway, is going this time!! This is my 6th time seeing them this year and I hope that  it's a satisfactory one! I also  hope that those who have gone supporting them this year will get tickets easy enough and roll on the 30th!

Galway have never had such a protracted championship run. Can only be good.

Lord help ye!
Galway won 2 All Irelands by winning just 4 games in the 80s.

They won 3 all irelands with 6 games . 2  of them involved reintroducing Tipperary to Croke Park after a long absence.   

[Milltown Row2]

did they not have to play Roscommon back then?

No, straight into the semi final.
It was a farce!

They were good enough to beat the big teams in the final though, sure ya got a free one against Antrim in 89, take that off your list

[seafoid]

This is a good preview of the first day that they can reuse

http://tv.gaa.ie/#/62300/976/-round-the-square-episode-6-2012

[Asal Mor]

hi lads/lassies,
Can't wait for the match and there will be another huge crowd form the west there! from what I hear every jackass that has never gone to a hurling match before involving galway, is going this time!! This is my 6th time seeing them this year and I hope that  it's a satisfactory one! I also  hope that those who have gone supporting them this year will get tickets easy enough and roll on the 30th!

Galway have never had such a protracted championship run. Can only be good.

Lord help ye!
Galway won 2 All Irelands by winning just 4 games in the 80s.

Are ya getting over that 18 point massacre ok PE? Give it time anyway.

[seafoid]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0925/1224324358712.html

SEÁN MORAN

THE FIRST All-Ireland final hurling replay in 53 years brings strains for both Kilkenny and Galway. It's not just that the last drawn final was in 1959 but in recent years it's unusual even to have matches replayed in the latter stages of the championship.

Two managers who have had important matches against both the All-Ireland finalists have a similar view of next weekend's contest and tend to the view that Kilkenny have more potential for improvement.

Jimmy Barry-Murphy's Cork side lost the league final to Kilkenny and lost the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway. He believes the unexpected additional weeks present a challenge for both teams.

"The first thing that strikes me is that it drags things out and makes it very hard to maintain things at the pitch you want, which can be a big problem."

His Dublin counterpart Anthony Daly, who is expected to be reappointed as manager this week, faced Galway in April's relegation play-off and saw his side well beaten by Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-final. He also had extensive experience of championship replays as a player and like Barry-Murphy, who managed Cork to All-Ireland success in 1999, was involved in a final decided by a point.

"It's a fair bit of time and gives a chance to adjust to what's a desperate anti-climax. During the summer it doesn't matter but a final is supposed to be the end of the season and players have given everything. Afterwards you're supposed to be licking your wounds or having a ball and it's very hard to get used to that not happening.

"This is very different, if only because we're not used to it.

"We had a lot of replays: Tipperary and Galway in 1999 and Waterford and Offaly in '98. But they were all in the middle of the season and you were happy that even if you hadn't won you hadn't lost either. Midstream, it's just another game. Finals are different.

"In 1997, it was looking on the cards and I was getting worried because my wedding was on the next Saturday. It was bad enough for me but (now wife) Eilish was in the Cusack Stand, appalled at the prospect.

"Players would have planned a bit of a session before getting back into club training so you can imagine the anti-climax.

"Anthony Cunningham put them on the bus and took them home that night. Fellas would have been there with their new suits and banquet tickets and they have to go home!"

Barry-Murphy says the final demonstrated the extent to which Kilkenny need to get improved performances from established players and how Galway need to address the tendency to drop back on leads.

"I was interested in the Kilkenny subs bench not being used because I think there's a misconception about strength in depth. The fact is in any county once you go beyond the top 15 you're probably going to struggle a bit.

"There's a number of Kilkenny forwards who didn't play well and will be looking to improve after the last day. Henry Shefflin gave an unbelievable display but all of the others have room for improvement.

"I'm fascinated by Galway and the way they cede territory and possession to opponents as soon as they get a lead. They did it against us and we hadn't the experience to take advantage; we should have had taken more scores when we had the chances.

"I'd discount the Leinster final because the margin made it irrelevant but I'd imagine Anthony Cunningham will be looking closely at this and the way Joe Canning can become marginalised."

Daly was working at the drawn final for RTÉ radio and suspects that just as Kilkenny had targeted Dublin in Leinster before performing disappointingly in the provincial final, the All-Ireland semi-final demolition of Tipperary may have drained them a bit for the final.

"I though they were flat. They took it out on Tipp in the semi-final and that fury and fire were missing in the final. They seem to have forgotten that they'd been humiliated in the Leinster final and that Galway were expecting a backlash.

"But the second-half performance was huge. One way of looking at it is they won't be as bad again. I said on radio that they had been very flat and then allowed the referee issue sidetrack them. They allowed funny things to happen, like Tommy Walsh ending up spending so much time on the edge of the square and leaving Richie Hogan on Iarla Tannian for the whole match."

Kilkenny's stamina at this level has been nearly unprecedented. Should they win next weekend they will have won more than Mick O'Dwyer's Kerry football side from the 1970s and '80s. Both currently have accumulated eight All-Irelands in 12 years but Kilkenny could move to nine in 13.

But there have been signs of faltering.

"Any team that's on top for a long time can find their edge going a bit and it's hard to keep that at the level needed to win an All-Ireland," says Barry-Murphy.

Daly agrees but isn't sure that the champions are there for the taking just yet.

He does, however, remember the process through which his own team's desire became blunted.

"We never won what they won but by the end of 1999, we didn't have the edge any more to keep winning and hating other teams! But Kilkenny are so unique they keep digging and going to the well.

"I think we trained 21 nights out of 23 before playing Tipperary in 2000 but it wasn't there. No matter what Ger Loughnane said about Tipp, we couldn't get going