Munster championship 2014

[Milltown Row2]

What a t**ser, and while I was questioning some of the decisions there is no way referees are being instructed to 'take a team down' What a complete and utter tool. Keep publically attacking the referees and he'll get nothing the rest of the year, any marginal decisions will go against them.

I'd say McGrath got 2/3 decisions wrong and that's because I had the luxury of video replay. How many mistakes did Wee Davy make? Clare lost the fight, tactically and mentally. JBM is a class act

I don't buy the conspiracy thing (and if I did I would say it's anti-Davy, not anti-Clare).  Equally Clare should have learnt from 98 that these things go from motivating factor to millstone very quick.

However, I include a cut and paste from Clare hurlers forum which show that in the first half alone there was more that 2/3 decisions:

will make it easy for folks...times from on rte player feed above..look at the elapsed time between each of these events

min 17.24 Cronin collect ball, falls going forward, no contact, surrounded while trying to get up, free in
18.09 Head high tackle on Conlon, forces causes Kearney to drop hurl, Conlon breaks "tackle" and scores, no caution no free
21.10 Cadogan collects balls going away from goal and runs straight into OConnor with elbow up, Free in, no use of arms etc
26:48 Podge Collins ankle tapped going to collect ball, Cork player ensures he cannot get up, Cork free
27:30 Harnedy falls forward into McInerney after collecting Walsh pass, no use of hands no interference, Cork free
29:09 Double pull across Tony Kelly, second was a deliberate strike, Cork yellow...rules state its a red
30:34 Bill Cooper charges straight at Tuohy with hurl up, play on
33:11 Tuohy collects ball and comes out, Cadogan clearly puts his left arm up onto his helmet to prevent, Tuohy attempts to handpass, free in, Cork score
40:00 Bugler concedes soft free for use of hand in dropping ball, probably a free but normally not given, Cork score (see next incident)
42:58 Mcdonnell uses both hands to prevent McGrath getting to ball out on sideline, CLare crowd go nuts, no free
43:07 OConnor penalized for use of arm, often not given, but technically a free, for decent moved in 35m to scorable position, Cork score
44.40 Podge Collins cleaned, no free,play on, Galvin has to collect and beat a player before scoring off his left....then ref books Kearney.....no free!
45:42, ball drops to MF, Kelly absolutely taken out of it as it drops, ball delivered inside, Cadogan fails to collect, Browne surrounds him using arms, free in, Bugler receiving treatment, Cork goal

Also just on half time Conor Ryan was completely taken out but McGrath was looking up the field to see where his clearance would go.

Cards on table here: I am from Clare, was at the match and was never as dismayed by a referee as that. 

That said I think Clare have more issues to tackle than consistency of referees.

/Jim.

As I said (I'm also a referee) I thought McGrath missed 2/3 obvious frees, I don't think he did it on purpose, it serves no purpose to a referee who is looking to do well within his duties. Referees are getting scrutinised more and more now especially the football ones. The referee did not loose the game for Clare, Cork were the better team

[glens73]

Wee Davy seemed to suggest after the game that his players don't have the same hunger or spark as last year.

He's probably doing all this to motivate his own players with the "everybody is against us"  routine.

[theskull1]

I got a sense throughout the game that Cork we're getting the frees handier than Clare. Who knows what influences opinions subconciously at times. For all I know I could have a lingering dislike for Cork after the Ger McCarthy affair and that skewed my perspective.

[deiseach]

Wee Davy seemed to suggest after the game that his players don't have the same hunger or spark as last year.

<insert apocryphal Larry O'Gorman "if I won another All-Ireland" quote here>

[johnneycool]

I got a sense throughout the game that Cork we're getting the frees handier than Clare. Who knows what influences opinions subconciously at times. For all I know I could have a lingering dislike for Cork after the Ger McCarthy affair and that skewed my perspective.

Is there any of those lads still on this particular panel, Shane O'Neill,maybe Nash and the older Cadogan, and a few others, but they weren't the main protagonists for what we know anyway.

Felt the ref was harsh on Clare too with some pretty obvious discrepancies in how rules were interpreted in pretty similar circumstances especially in the first half when the game was still in the mix.

I wouldn't make a whole pile of him playing on when Bugler was getting treated as we all want the game to go on, but I do remember him delaying a puck out or something until a Cork player returned to the field with a new helmet, he should have played on.

[Asal Mor]

Reading Christy O Connor's brilliant book "Last Man Standing" about hurling goalkeepers, and the chapter about Davy is particularly interesting. The amount of preparation he put in was really phenomenal and it would make you sympathise with him a bit more  when he's bollocking a ref for making a poor decision, or numerous poor decisions as was the case on Sunday. Referees should be sacred in all sports as they are in rugby, and I imagine they'd do a better job if they weren't being abused, but I can understand Davy's frustrations when you read about how much he puts into it.

[Zulu]

He's hardly putting in more than anyone else. Clare have embarrassed themselves and Davy is a big part of that. The ref didn't make that many mistakes as far as I remember.

[orangeman]

Cork by a good few tomorrow. Can't see Cork hurlers performing the same way as the footballers last week in the Pairc's last big game. It will be thronged.

[AZOffaly]

I can't see it being Cork by 'a good few' myself. They may win it, but that Limerick team is not bad, and they won't lie down. There'll be a big Limerick crowd there too.

[orangeman]

I can't see it being Cork by 'a good few' myself. They may win it, but that Limerick team is not bad, and they won't lie down. There'll be a big Limerick crowd there too.

By a good few I mean 6/7. Limerick aren't bad and won't lie down is right but I think Cork will have too much for them.

[Zulu]

Fancy Limerick myself, Cork have beaten a poor, injury hit Waterford and an out of sorts Clare. Limerick could just as easily have won the All Ireland last year and I think they have a decent chance of doing so again this year.

[macdanger2]

Interesting interview from Davey earlier, pity he didn't let rip 

http://www.joe.ie/sport/video-the-bizarre-davy-fitzgerald-interview-that-everyones-talking-about/497132

Good 2nd half though

[maigheo]

Jeez but Davy is a pure ass .Makes it very hard to root for Clare

[Farrandeelin]

Was there a big hoohaa about the halftime shenanigans? Or is that left for the football rruffians only?

[johnneycool]

Was there a big hoohaa about the halftime shenanigans? Or is that left for the football rruffians only?

Didn't get to see the live game half time analysis, but it got a good airing in the evening showing with Mick Kavanagh and Donal O'G both agreeing that the referee got it right. I'm not so sure the straight red for Seany Tobin though, thought both were at it on his arrival and the Clare lad made a meal of the dig in the ribs, probably correct by the book, but harsh in my mind.

Over the 70 minutes, whilst there were a few questionable decisions, I thought it was evenly balance, timing aside, but Davy really needs to look at how his players tackle.
Their first instinct is the spare arm drag around the chest or arm or wherever and referees don't miss that, they need to be cuter than that. I'd be hard to argue against any of the frees awarded against his team, or indeed any that Limerick conceded.
I thought the ref did well overall and certainly applied the rules a lot better than some, Brian Gavin doesn't apply the rules IMO.

As for the game itself, the Clare style is reliant on a good first touch and they didn't have that yesterday, TBH, neither did Limerick, a very ring rusty first half in particular. Thought the second half was much better with some fantastic scores taken by both sides, although the two goals scored by Aaron Cunningham were sublime and he's carrying his U21 form into the seniors seamlessly. He along with Kelly, Conlon and O'Donnell are a good potent set of forwards, but lack aerial ball winners, Conlon excepted, hence Davy's passing game.

Limerick will need a vast improvement in the meeting with Tipp, but they're a big physical outfit who seem to prefer the long range point taking to circumvent the packed defences and on a good day it works well, but too many wides will cause them to change tack and I'm not sure if plan B in getting goals is their strong point.
The young lad Lynch certainly doesn't lack confidence (He's the head of a Carey on him for sure), but he was feeding on scraps and doing well at it, but he'll meet better defenders the next day out.